A Devil's Wings
by The Distorted Shadow
Summary: When Kashima Naoki returned to Tokyo to meet with his old teacher, he found something that existed outside of his previous experience. Now involved in a competition between aliens, he'll have to decide just how dangerous the situation is and whether or not the world needs the power of the Hitoshura once again.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I'm sure some of you might remember this from back when I had my little collection fic of future ideas.

Anyway, it has been refined a bit more since then and I have now decided it is time to post it given just how much my mind is focusing on it right now and how I can't seem to really get into the groove for my currently posted fics.

So, I suppose it is time to get this out of the way:

 **I Do Not Own The Intellectual Property Of Either The Megami Tensei Franchise Or Sekirei And Make No Money Off This Free Access Fanfiction**

There, now that that disclaimer is out of the way, I suppose I'll just get on with the story.

* * *

A sigh escaped his lips as he looked over the gathered crowd.

How long had it been since that day?

Ten? Twenty years?

He'd lost track of it all in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Not that it mattered, it wasn't like a decade or two was really worth that much to him.

Not when he knew from his 'friend' that despite looking like he did before that day, he was still the same as he was by the end of that day.

Leaving the store he had been window shopping through, he pulled out his phone and stared.

It had been a long time since he had left his family and he had put off speaking to them ever since… and all because of a single reason.

How was he supposed to explain to them why he still looked about fifteen years old when he was over double that age?

Sometimes being ageless was such a pain.

He let out a sigh as he started to tap the screen on the mobile communication device, at least there was one person he could always talk to whenever he was feeling down.

The phone rang for several tones, as he walked along the street, the new piece of technology pressed against his ear.

 _"Hello Naoki-kun,"_ he let out a smile upon hearing the voice of the woman that had put him into his current predicament, the woman that ended the world.

"Hello Yuko," his voice was soft, he still remembered the time he was one of her students at high school but their relationship had grown significantly since the recreation of the world as it was before being destroyed by her… she was his only human confident after all.

 _"Getting lonely again?"_ the feminine voice that came from the other side of the speaker was clearly sad, then again, she was the only person who remembered the world during the stage between its death and reformation.

"Yeah, sorry for disturbing you," he wouldn't lie to her, not when it was the conversations he had with her that had helped him cement his resolve to restore the world to the way it was before the conception.

 _"It's alright, I know how hard it is for you given your… circumstances,"_ she never spoke it out loud just in case anyone overheard but he didn't care, they were more than capable of talking with each other that way and fully understanding what the other was saying.

"Thanks, I would speak with my _other_ friends but they don't understand me the same way you do," that was an understatement if there ever was one… after all, he had a human heart and they didn't.

Not even the Pixie that had been with him since the beginning truly understood him, sure she tried to and learned how to interpret what he thought and felt but she didn't truly understand him in a natural way.

Though knowing she was there for him and willing to learn about humans to get closer to him was in itself something that made him happy.

 _"I know, they just don't think along the same lines as you do do they?"_ he smiled at that, Takao Yuko, his old teacher had always understood and trusted him… sometimes he had wondered just why she had put so much faith in him during the conception but he cleared his head of that thought, in the end the only answer that ever popped into his head was that her feelings for him were _not_ those of a teacher.

It didn't help that he could see it in her eyes whenever the met face to face, pain.

Was it the pain of knowing that she would eventually die and leave him without a confident?

Or was it the pain of someone looking at someone they loved suffer?

He didn't know but he hoped she didn't love him, because he knew they could never be together in that sense… he just knew his heart wouldn't be capable of surviving losing her if she was anything more than a confident.

Then again, it was that heart that had kept him human despite his demonic body.

 _"Where are you now?"_ her voice was soft as it usually was and he found a small, sad smile grace his lips as he remembered that she wouldn't be there forever.

"Shibuya," he answered easily as he continued to walk through the street.

 _"So you're back in Tokyo again,"_ he smiled wryly at that, it was something they both did, after all, it hadn't been long ago that the city had been renamed 'Shinto Teito' by that nutjob of a CEO, Minaka Hiroto… honestly, who buys out enough of a city that they're allowed to rename it?

"Yeah, I'm back, hopefully I'll manage to get a temporary job soon enough," that was pretty much the only type of job he could do… if he got anything permanent then he would run the risk of others noting his lack of aging and that would cause even more problems for him.

 _"Do you need any money or somewhere to stay?"_ her question was one he was used to receiving from her. She knew that unlike her he couldn't hold down a job and tried to look out for him.

Sure he could have always become self employed… a repairman or something like that, however the problem was getting the training and qualifications to actually do a proper job of it.

After all, doing a proper job would result in him getting good reviews and getting good reviews was the key to succeeding in the independent market, especially with the Internet being even more popular than ever.

"I could do with somewhere to stay while I'm looking for some work," he admitted, he didn't want to commit any crimes since he could always have his image taken at some point.

Which would be very bad for him… after all, getting a criminal record of any kind could make him recognisable to people he would rather not be recognised by and could come to bite him in the ass if he was ever noted to have not aged at all since his previous picture… knowing that there was someone that didn't age would bring plenty of people after him… and the fact was he didn't want to slaughter everyone that went after him.

 _"Will you be coming over right now?"_ her voice sounded hopeful and he just knew that she wanted him to stay with her, even if only for a couple of months.

"That depends, are you free now?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't going to inconvenience the only human he had any real connection to by coming around before she was ready for him.

 _"Yes, I just need to get a few things done first,"_ he immediately noted the sound of crinkling foil and had to let out a heartfelt chuckle, despite her calm and kind demeanour and the air of competence she gave off, her house was almost always a mess.

"It's alright Yuko, you know I already know how messy your place can get," he told her with amusement clear in his tone.

 _"I know… but I prefer it being clean when you come around,"_ her tone made it clear to him that she probably wanted to let herself feel like she made a good impression on him… whether as her student or something else wasn't something he was entirely certain of.

"Well, I'll be there in a little while, see you soon," he said as he walked towards the train station.

 _"Yes, see you soon Naoki-kun,"_ and with that the conversation finished and he looked up at the schedule before letting out a sigh.

Looks like he just missed the train.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki walked along the street towards his old teachers house once again, his mind going over the fact that he was once again going to see her after the five years that had passed since he was last in Japan.

He idly wondered if she was surprised he hadn't mentioned that he was returning… then again, he had been travelling the world randomly ever since he had decided to leave the country for awhile.

He also wondered if her neighbours would recognise him from all his visits before he left… he expected they wouldn't given how he hadn't really visited her that often after graduating high school, instead just sporadically showing up and spending time speaking with the one person he could tell anything.

Looking at the street itself it was clear that not much had changed… except that the large house next door to his old teachers house was now advertising itself as an inn and that there was a woman standing outside the gate sweeping the pavement but outside of those minor differences, everything looked the same as it always did.

"Hello there, are you lost?" the woman sweeping the street asked casually, earning a strained smile from the man.

"No, I'm just going to see an old friend," he admitted. It wasn't much of a problem, he could tell that this woman wasn't the same one that he had last seen at that house, for the last woman to live there was far older than the woman before him.

That was good, it meant that she wouldn't know him to be able to tell he hadn't aged.

"Oh? I didn't know there were any children your age in this district," her smile was beatific but Naoki found himself narrowing his eyes as her tone spoke of suspicion… and he didn't like dealing with people acting suspicious around him.

"She isn't," he stated bluntly, "she was my old homeroom teacher, Takao Yuko."

"Oh, Takao-san is having a guest? My, I hope she isn't toying with you," he felt his anger rising at that comment, while it was said with a hint of joviality that made it clear she wasn't being completely serious, there was an underlying note in her tone that made it clear she wasn't being entirely frivolous either.

"She is my closest friend and only confident… if you want to sling accusations around about immoral activities then I swear, I will make your life a living hell," he told her seriously, earning an amused smile off the woman.

"Oh? It sounds to me like someone has a crush on their teacher," the woman was clearly saying that to try and get under his skin this time and not make accusations about Yuko herself.

And that completely changed how he felt about it.

"I don't know," he was slightly amused by the surprised look on the woman's face at that admission, "what I do know is that any romantic relationship between us wouldn't work out."

It seemed that his admission caught her off guard.

"Anyway, I'm going to be staying with her for a little while, I might see you around," he admitted, earning an amused smile off the woman.

"Oh? And what do your parents think about that?" she asked him easily.

"It doesn't matter what they think," it was clear that she didn't agree, "and just so you know, I'm older than I look."

"Oh? Then how old are you?" her voice was still holding its hint of amusement.

"Old enough to make my own decisions," he stated bluntly… he had no intention of letting this woman know he was in his thirties.

"Is that so, then you won't mind telling how old that is," she was clearly being nosy and he found himself deciding to simply end the 'conversation' there.

"Old enough to have graduated school," the look of surprise on her face was clear to him and it gave him a chance that he wouldn't miss, "now if you don't mind, I'm expected."

And without any further attempts at a conversation he proceeded to continue on to his old teachers home.

Walking up to the front door was simple and he had once wondered how she could afford to live in such a house on a teachers wage… and when he finally got up the courage to ask her she had told him and it all made much more sense.

It was her family home for three generations.

At least it had been until her grandparents died of old age and her parents had died in a car crash with a drunken driver.

Hearing that had made her inner cynicism and decision to end the world for it to be reborn much easier for him to understand… even if he personally didn't agree with that decision in the end.

He was just grateful she had come to the same decision after all their conversations in the vortex world and was happy that the world was the way it was now… even if it wasn't perfect, a world without freedom was a world without will and not a true world but a well oiled machine with no variables.

Yes he had given up stability for freedom.

Yes he had allowed for suffering in exchange for happiness.

Yes he had allowed for a broken world to be reborn.

So what?

In the end, he was prepared to accept the bad along with the good, he wouldn't let fear of the future drive him… and yes, he knew it sounded hypocritical to say that but the fact was that he wasn't afraid of the future, he just didn't want it to become irritating because he made mistakes when he was younger.

He let those thoughts leave his head as he rang the doorbell and stood waiting for the front door to open.

It only took a few seconds and he was greeted by the sight of the woman that had once destroyed the world.

Just as always, she wore surprisingly stylish clothes, giving her a far more modern feel than most other teachers he had seen. Her shoulder length black hair was still as well kept as ever with not a single grey in sight, however her face was beginning to show signs of her age, with the odd wrinkle here and there… but in the end, he still thought she was beautiful.

"Hello Naoki-kun, it's been too long," and with her greeting he found himself getting hugged… a distinctly uncomfortable experience given how he had Masakados burrowed in his body and nullifying any sensation or damage he could get from physical contact.

It didn't stop him from returning the hug as lightly as he could… he didn't want to accidentally hurt her after all.

"Yeah, it has Yuko," he couldn't stop the smile from gracing his lips as he let those words leave his mouth, it really had been far too long since they had last met face to face after all.

Besides, he was planning on switching to another Magatama later, then he would be capable of actually _feeling_ any contact they had with each other.

"Well, are you coming in?" she asked him with an ecstatic smile spreading across her lips.

Without saying anything else he allowed himself to be led into the house and towards the main living area before once again turning towards her.

"Do you want anything to eat?" she asked him as he took a seat on one of her sofa's.

"I'm fine, I had something just a couple of hours ago," he admitted with a soft smile, it was always nice to know that there was still someone willing to look after him despite having to cut ties with most people.

He didn't even keep in touch with Isamu or Chiaki now.

And although Hikawa was aware of his existence, the man knew not to bother sending people after him after discovering the reality of the matter… after all, if he couldn't win a fight with a Reason-God on his side, how did he expect to win with nothing more than a few low level demons?

"Anyway, I'm going to change my magatama now," he informed the woman who gave him a nod of acceptance before turning away from him.

He still remembered the first time she had witnessed him swapping his Magatama over and the look of horror and disgust that appeared on her face said it all.

Then again, the Magatama weren't exactly a pleasant thing to put in your body, especially given the method of 'ingesting' them.

He pulled out one of the sleeping creatures, its body curled up into the shape that was its namesake before preparing it for swapping.

Almost immediately the 'thing' started to squirm before he held it up to his eye and prepared himself for what was to come.

The worm like entity quickly shot towards the exposed sensory organ and started to pierce his defences, forcing itself past the eye while repairing the damage caused by its passage before finding its target location and pushing Masakados out of place and forcing it to leave via the ocular organ.

It was a decidedly unpleasant experience but one he had grown used to over his time in the vortex world and it was most certainly nowhere near as painful as the first time he had found one burrowing its way into his skull… that time had knocked him out regardless of how tough he was as a person.

Looking at his hand that had caught the falling Magatama, Naoki found it quickly becoming inert and curling back up into the almost jewel like shape they always took when not active.

Putting the source of Demonic Power away, he wiped his eye of any blood that had managed to leak before speaking again.

"It's over," and with that she turned to face him once again.

He knew that she didn't like the method behind swapping magatama but she had already asked him to use one to make her a demon, if only to allow her to live alongside him… but in the end the creatures rejected her, something he had tried to contact his 'sponsor' about.

Unfortunately he had received no reply from the Fallen Angel and was simply forced to keep all his magatama on him instead of allowing himself some more permanent company.

He was brought from his thoughts as he _felt_ her wrap her arms around him once again and he proceed to return the hug just like he did the last time, this time finding the embrace comfortable instead of awkward.

It really was wonderful to be capable of feeling contact with someone important to him… sure he was more than happy to focus on the practicality of being immune to all forms of harm but this was one of the rare exceptions where he was willing to leave himself vulnerable.

And it was only because of how much he trusted the woman that held him that he was willing to do so at all.

"Are you two going to cling to each other all day?" he let out a small sigh at the voice that interrupted the tender reunion, though he would admit that the owner of it was easily his second best friend… even if she was nowhere near as understanding as his old teacher.

"It looks like Pixie is getting jealous," he let out a small chuckle upon hearing that claim from Yuko.

"Hmph, I was pretty sure Naoki came here for reasons outside of you clinging to him like a limpet," he almost let out a sigh at the aggression in his first demon partners voice… probably because it always ended up like that whenever the older woman was there.

The fact that it was entirely possible that Pixie really _was_ getting jealous wasn't something he really bothered about, they were close and she did a good job of learning how to predict his thought patterns but in the end, the fact she had to work to understand him made their relationship stall at just friends.

Not that he had any problem with that, regardless of how hard she had to try to understand him, the simple fact that she was prepared to put that much effort into trying to understand him proved just how much she really cared for him.

It was just such a shame that they were too different in terms of how they felt emotions to truly connect to each other.

"Come on Pixie-chan, there is nothing wrong with hugging an old friend," he stated softly, hoping the tiny fairy would leave it at that.

"Not when that's all you do," it seemed she was really getting jealous of the human woman given the tone of her voice and the expression on her face.

Then again, she was too small for him to comfortably hug so seeing him being so intimate with someone else was probably not the easiest thing for the red head to deal with.

"Fine then," he gave in, honestly Pixie was his closest companion during his time in the vortex world and so she really was his best friend outside of Yuko, "Yuko, do you mind if I use your computer?"

"Of course not, feel free to use anything here," her response was both expected and heart-warming... he knew he could always count on her to accept his presence regardless of the consequences.

"Thank you," he silently vowed to try and keep his electricity, gas and food costs as low as possible for the woman… putting any of them up would reduce the amount of money she had to spend on herself and he most certainly didn't want that.

But he needed to find a job and what better place to search than online?

He remembered back before the conception, the internet had been big… very big… but it was no longer simply big, now it was almost all encompassing, it permeated every aspect of life and connected to every phone, TV, computer and sometimes even things like microwaves.

The thought of there ever being an advertisement that didn't exist online was now an alien one that Naoki found himself silently laughing at.

In the age of technology, knowing how to use it was essential to blending in and living a decent life.

And so he walked towards his former teachers computer, ready to search for job listings in Tokyo… sorry, Shinto Teito.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki had to admit, he hadn't expected to get an interview as quickly as he did… though he had lied on his CV, making himself appear younger and less experienced than he really was, he had already discovered that being honest about those facts could result in him being thrown out of the interview for lying on his application.

It seemed to have gone well enough, he could honestly say that much, though just because the interview seemed to go well didn't mean he was guaranteed to get the job, he had learned long ago that his _apparent age_ could get in the way of him being hired especially if they looked too deep into his history and discovered he was supposed to be thirty years old.

Sometimes he wished he had a method of creating new identities for himself but in the age of information connectivity, having a demon hypnotise one person wasn't enough to alter all the information available on you.

He once again released a sigh as he continued to walk along the street and towards the northern district of the city, he could've taken a train or a bus but that would've cost money and he didn't really have much more to do outside of continue his job hunting.

"Excuse me…" a small voice called from beside him causing him to pause and turn to face the owner.

"If you're wondering where the nearest Cosplay convention is, then you'd be better off asking someone else," he stated bluntly upon seeing the girl.

She was certainly cute, he would give her that, what with her cropped, light brown nearly blonde hair, the blue ribbon she wore and her youthful features, she didn't look much older than he did… meaning she was probably in her mid-teens if his estimate was correct.

What made him think she was going to some sort of cosplay convention was the fact that she was wearing a thigh length, one piece dress with a black collar, black stockings, long black gloves and most importantly, had what was clearly a prop to go with the costume.

"Uh… actually… I lost my MBI card," she muttered quietly and with what was clearly an embarrassed flush.

He took a few seconds to figure out the statement before remembering that MBI, the largest company in the world did credit cards alongside technology and pharmaceuticals.

"Well, I'm sorry about that but I've not seen one lying around anywhere," he informed the girl bluntly before his ears caught something that immediately made it clear what the girl was after.

The small girl seemed to flush and make herself smaller as her stomach growled loud enough to be mistaken for a bear… and he actually did know what a bear sounded like given that time he was in Alaska and had come face to face with a Kodiak that had tried to eat him… it lost… badly.

"I see…" he stated before releasing a sigh, why did he have to be so soft? "fine, I'll get you something to eat."

And with that he picked up the girls prop, a very realistic, giant inflatable hammer which he quickly rested on his shoulder before noting the girls wide eyes.

"What?" he asked as she stared at him, "I'm just getting you something to eat before you start to starve, okay?"

"Ah, yes, thank you very much," and with that she started to walk closer to him as he took her to a fast food place he used to visit regularly when he was still in high school, blushing all the way.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki was definitely regretting feeding the blushing girl, the way she was going through the food right now was just proof of how ludicrous her appetite was and how much it was costing him.

Honestly he was just grateful that he wouldn't have to feed her on a regular basis.

But her appetite had given him pause and made him re-examine the 'prop' that he had carried all the way to the fast food place.

And he quickly realised that it _wasn't_ a prop but a genuine hammer bigger than an average adult male… which just went to prove his suspicions that had been raised by the size of her appetite.

She wasn't human.

There was just one question left.

"So, what are you?" he asked her bluntly, there was no reason to be subtle about it, not when she had no reason to continue hiding it from him.

"Huh?" she sounded surprised by his question so he decided to explain himself and show her why she didn't have to hide it.

"The quantity of food you are eating is too great for a human to consume in a single sitting, no matter how hungry they are, the fact that you are not massively obese only reinforces the fact that your digestive capabilities are most likely not human," he explained academically, "plus your hammer is far too heavy to carry as easily as you did with human musculature."

She seemed to shrink in on herself after that brief explanation before asking her own question.

"Then how did you carry it so easily?" her question was perfectly valid and he had his own answer to that question since he had already had Pixie set up a barrier to prevent eavesdroppers.

"Because I'm not human," her head jerked towards him as a shocked expression consumed her face, "at least, not anymore."

That seemed to make her look at him as if he was something she had never heard of before.

"I was born a human but due to certain circumstances I became something else," he admitted, there was no reason to hide his status as non-human from another non-human.

"But… but how?" she seemed shocked at his explanation for his own inhuman abilities.

"That doesn't matter right now," he stated seriously, "what matters, is what you are, if there are more of you and if you are a threat to this city."

She seemed shocked by his questions and shrunk down even more at his demeanour.

"… I can't tell you yet," she sounded nervous and he wondered if it was a trait of her species that they flush all the time.

"Why not?" he asked calmly, he knew that there were times when someone chose not to pass on information not because they didn't want to but because they had to withhold it for certain reasons.

"I… I can't say…" she seemed terrified despite how red her face was.

"I see," he acknowledged what she was saying before asking another question that had stuck in his head, "you mentioned that you cannot tell me yet, which implies that there are certain circumstances where telling me would be acceptable."

She nodded her head which caused him to close his eyes before asking the important question.

"And what would I be required to do to fulfil that condition," he asked, noting how she worried her lip at his question.

"Become my Ashikabi," he frowned at that explanation since it didn't actually explain anything at all.

"And what is an Ashikabi?" his question was obvious to anyone with any common sense.

"An Ashikabi is… and Ashikabi is our destined one," he had to blink at that description, "the one person we will love unconditionally… the person our lives will be forever connected to."

He could do nothing more than stare blankly at the girl as she started to gush over the concept of an Ashikabi before sighing in annoyance.

You couldn't just become an Ashikabi and even if he could, it meant getting too close to a mortal that could very well die within the next hundred years.

"I see," he admitted, honestly he felt that he had managed to get a decent enough picture of the girls personality to tell that she wasn't a threat to the city unless this 'Ashikabi' of hers turned out to be an asshole, "in that case I will bid you farewell."

He noted the look of shock on her furiously blushing face as he proceeded to rise from his seat ready to leave the establishment.

"Wait!" he froze at her desperate call, shocked at the terror in her voice as he was about to leave… he just couldn't comprehend why she would be scared of him leaving.

"What is it?" he asked with a hint of irritation in his tone, the fact was that the girl wasn't going to tell him anything else so their business had come to its conclusion.

"Please," her voice was quivering as she started to make her plea, "please, become my Ashikabi."

What?

"What do you mean 'become your Ashikabi'?" he didn't like where this was going, not one bit.

"You are my Ashikabi," she stated with such conviction in her tone that he was left wondering how she could tell… unless…

"Your species is slightly psychic isn't it?" his guess seemed to be spot on if her reaction to him was anything to go by, which she only acknowledged with a firm nod.

"Yes… we react when our Ashikabi is near," react when their Ashikabi is near? That was when it hit him.

"Do you mean the constant blushing and nervousness?" he asked her calmly, earning another nod off the girl.

He stood in silence as he noted how she was looking at him with both hope and fear on her features.

He didn't want to become her Ashikabi, the thought of getting so close to someone was not something he was enthusiastic about, plus she wasn't human so connecting with her would definitely be harder than it would be to do so with Yuko.

But in the end, he knew from experience that ignoring something like this could be dangerous… and so he made his decision.

"Alright, I will become your Ashikabi," he told her seriously, earning a look of pure joy from the light haired girl.

"Thank you," and with that the girl lean towards him in what he could only call an extremely forward gesture before meeting his lips.

That was when he knew something had gone wrong.

He felt his mana flowing through his mouth and into the girl before him, which he assumed was normal… what he didn't believe was normal was the way her eyes shot open and veins of power started spreading across her body as she let loose an unearthly scream of pain.

If it wasn't for the barrier Pixie had put up previously, he was sure the entire store would be panicking right then but thankfully he had already had the barrier deployed and none of the patrons would notice anything amiss.

Eventually though, the veins of energy erupted from her back in the form of two giant, raven like wings as her eyes turned blood red before she finally passed out on the ground.

"Pixie! Get us to Yuko's place now!" he commanded before feeling the effects of the ability that had caused him so much trouble in Yoyogi park during the conception.

"Naoki-kun? What's going on?" he heard the one person he was closer to than anyone else say.

"No time to explain, check her vitals," and with that his former teacher started to check over the girl that had somehow managed to absorb some of his demonic essence… explanations would come soon but the first thing he needed to do was ensure the girl survived the ordeal of absorbing a demons essence.

And then his phone rang.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Things were going well.

The Sekirei were slowly being winged, fights were occasionally breaking out and new Sekirei were being released at regular intervals.

Everything was going perfectly as far as he was concerned.

Of course, he planned on speeding things up soon and then hopefully, the last of the Sekirei would be winged and the third phase could begin.

"Minaka-sama, your coffee," he had to smile at that.

Gabby Conway, thirty-three years old, half Japanese and half Welsh of all things. She was probably in his top five greatest discoveries alongside The Sekirei, Takehito and Takami.

The reason was simply due to how perfect she was at her job of being a secretary, always bringing him his coffee just when he needed it, always bringing it at just the right temperature and that was simply how she did with his coffee… her other skills were just as impressive as her coffee bringing skills.

And that's not even getting into the fact that she was the one that inspired the Sekirei Plan itself, a few little sentences that he had taken out of context and used to create the ultimate game with the ultimate prize! Ascension to godhood!

But beyond all of that, there was another thing that made her stand out… Karasuba.

Karasuba was easily the second most dangerous being he had ever met, a bloodthirsty monster that could singlehandedly wipe out armies with nothing but a Nodachi… and despite all the body language saying she was terrified of the blood soaked Sekirei, her eyes _never_ showed any fear towards the grey haired alien.

She was only ever pretending to be afraid of Karasuba, never actually afraid of the sword wielding maniac.

So he knew that his secretary would manage to stay calm and do whatever was necessary no matter how dangerous the situation, after all, how was she going to panic if she didn't feel fear in the first place?

"Thank you Conway-chan!" he responded enthusiastically as he accepted the coffee and took a sip of it, earning a smile from the woman that didn't reach her eyes, not that that was surprising, the woman did go through a lot of motions whenever he saw her, "perfect as always."

"I live to serve Minaka-sama," her words could easily be taken out of context but Minaka didn't care, he had no interest in her like that, the only woman he ever wanted to be with was Takami… of course, given her harsh attitude towards him and the fact she wouldn't let him see his children… well, he was at least grateful that she was prepared to stay on for the Sekirei.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by the sound of an email getting through and he immediately went to open it, after all, with the Sekirei plan ongoing, most of his emails right now were updates on Ashikabi and the circumstances of the plan itself.

"Let's see…" he mumbled to himself as he read the information on the file, "looks like we have a new Ashikabi!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Gabby seemed interested, then again, she had always been rather interested in the Sekirei in general, so it wasn't a surprise to him that she was curious.

"Now, he looks interesting," he admitted with a bit of a grin, "looks like this Ashikabi has travelled the world and never kept a job for more than six months in the past twenty years."

"He sounds like quite the bad worker," his secretary stated with a hint of disdain in her tone.

"Except for the fact that he only ever worked temporary jobs with a six-month contract," he informed her and noted the way her eyebrow rose at that, "he's worked all over the world, in all sorts of jobs and with all sorts of people."

"So he's a wanderer then?" she seemed a little surprised by that information and he just gave her a grin.

"Yes, he's a wanderer named Kashima Naoki," his mind raced upon saying that name, not because of the name itself but because of something that caught him by surprise.

Gabby Conway looked like she always did, her posture firm, her face set into a soft smile and her clothing and hair presented with a professional neatness.

What wasn't right were her eyes.

For the first time ever, he was seeing raw, genuine _fear_ in those eyes.

This definitely looked like it was interesting, the idea that there was someone that could strike fear into the hearts of the fearless was enough to wet his thirst for knowledge.

"Well, I suppose it's time to welcome Kashima-san to the Sekirei Plan," he said with his usual grin adorning his face as he started his usual routine of contacting the new Ashikabi.

It was time to see just what sort of person he was dealing with.

* * *

And so that's the first chapter posted, I actually have the second chapter written and ready for posting and have made a start on the third chapter but I'm going to leave it a little while before actually putting it up here.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it or at least found your interest piqued.

So, until next time...

Shadow out.


	2. Chapter 2

And here I am again with the next chapter of this fic.

Anyway... let's just get on with the story.

* * *

"Congratulations!" Naoki found himself about to growl as a man he recognised as the head of MBI yelled out of the phone as a video call was established, "since you have winged a Sekirei, you are hereby entered into the Sekirei Plan!"

The demonic man simply found himself staring bluntly at the man that just casually revealed that he was aware of the existence of this non-human species.

"Uh… who are you?" the white haired president of one of the world's most powerful conglomerates suddenly asked upon opening his eyes.

"Kashima Naoki," he responded bluntly, earning a confused look off the man.

"I think I've gotten the wrong number," the over dramatic billionaire muttered to himself.

"Is this call to do with the non-human girl that decided to bond herself to me earlier?" he asked the man with his temper still short despite the girl apparently being stable.

"I see… so you really are Kashima Naoki," the man seemed shocked before he shook his head and gave a grin, "you look incredibly young for your age, what's your secret?"

"Worms," he stated bluntly, earning a grimace from the man.

"I think I'll avoid that diet then," the man seemed incredibly put off by that statement before he put his smile back on and then started to spout out what he had called for, "now, since you've successfully winged a Sekirei, you are now a participant in the Sekirei plan!"

"And what is this Sekirei Plan?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"It is a competition for ascension!" the white haired man stated with a grandiose wave of his arms, "a ritual to welcome a new age of gods!"

It was official, Naoki hated this man already.

"Go fuck yourself," he stated bluntly, earning a sudden unbalancing of the man that was calling him.

"Do you have any idea what you're trying to reject?" the white haired man asked with a grin.

"Look little man," Naoki stated with a small growl entering his throat, "the gods are still here, you're just lucky enough that they aren't paying you any attention."

"Ouch, I don't think I've ever talked to anyone as harsh as you before," the bespectacled man admitted with a grin, "but never the less, you've been entered into the Sekirei plan regardless of your intentions!"

"Do you want to die Minaka?" he asked the man calmly, "because if you want to then it could easily be arranged."

"Haaaa… look Kashima-kun," the man started to say in a disappointed tone, "just because you are now the partner of a superpowered alien doesn't mean you are suddenly the biggest person in town."

He found himself internally laughing at the man making the assumption that he was confident because of the alien he had bonded to.

"You're a fool Minaka," he stated calmly, "do you really think I'm confident because of something you've apparently given me? It's only natural that you would put safeguards in place to stop them being used against you."

That seemed to make the man pay attention again.

"Well, I suppose you seem a little smarter than I was expecting," the white haired man stated with a curious expression now adorning his face, "but that just raises the question of exactly why you are so confident."

"I've dealt with _far_ worse than you," he stated bluntly, "trust me, if it wasn't for me, then the world we live in right now would be _very_ different."

That was most certainly not a lie, if it hadn't been for him literally forcing an aspect of The Great Will to remake the world the way it had been before the conception then it would still be a barren wasteland filled with ghosts and demons, or it would have taken on a form that would be unrecognisable to the people that lived here.

"Now, like I said before, you can go fuck yourself with your new age of gods bullshit," he continued, "but if I find out you're trying to upset the balance of this world… then I will find you and I will destroy you."

And with that, he hung up on the man that had been infuriating him.

"That man has no idea what he's talking about," he let out a soft smile upon hearing Yuko's disdainful statement.

"Yeah, he doesn't," he acknowledged, "so, how is she?"

"Her vitals are steady, her breathing is regular and she seems to be sleeping off whatever happened," she answered him before turning to look him in the eyes, "what happened to her?"

"Her species seems to have some form of psychic bond," he stated, knowing that she would have already come to understand the general situation due to his conversation with the idiot that had phoned him, "she tried to form hers with me and drew in some of my essence."

"I see," the teacher stated calmly, "why did you accept the bond?"

"Obligation," he admitted easily, even after all this time, he still remembered that promise he had once made.

"Masakados?" he nodded, he had once promised the deity that he would protect the city he was currently in and despite having to travel all over the world due to his circumstances, he had no intention of abandoning the duty passed onto him.

"Well, she isn't in any danger so we should just let her rest for now," the older of the duo stated calmly, "we can try and figure out what's happening once she wakes up."

"Yeah," he acknowledged as he once again looked at the now sleeping girl, "but let's be careful, that Minaka guy didn't seem too happy about me blowing him off."

The smile she gave him in response to that was filled with amusement.

"You forced an aspect of The Great Will to rebuild this universe, one ignorant billionaire isn't going to be a threat," he would admit that she had a point, given his current level of power, he was pretty sure he could survive a Hydrogen Bomb, but that didn't mean _she_ could.

"It's not me I'm worried about," he admitted while looking at her.

"Naoki, I trust you to make sure nothing will happen to me," she informed him with a soft smile, "so I'm not afraid of one ignorant billionaire."

He wasn't sure what to think of that. He was happy that she trusted him but he didn't want her to be so overconfident that she would get captured or hurt because she trusted him too much.

"Thank you," he responded with a soft smile, "but please don't put yourself at risk... I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt because of me."

"I promise," her response made him smile before he looked back at the sleeping girl before deciding he should probably follow her example and get some rest.

That's not to say he was particularly tired but he had long since grown to enjoy the act of sleeping whenever he got the opportunity… it helped the years fly by much faster after all.

And so he sat on a comfy chair and closed his eyes.

"Sorry Yuko, I'm going to have a nap now," he said as he essentially using sleeping magic on himself, causing him to lose consciousness though not before hearing her response.

"Pleasant dreams."

It was such a shame he had stopped dreaming long ago.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Minaka was growing rather giddy as he thought about everything that was happening right now.

His secretary had been in the room when he had made his call to Kashima Naoki and the more he spoke, the more the fear in her eyes grew, especially when Kashima threatened him.

Clearly the boy was more than he looked and Gabby knew just what he was dealing with.

Of course, she didn't speak up, which only made him feel even more curious, she had never been one to worry about anything before and had calmly offered suggestions that had helped inspire his current decisions.

The best part was the realization that he was being played.

Gabby had never displayed any concern about anything before and now, all of a sudden, a man who was nearing his forties but looked like he wasn't even out of high school had shown up and she was scared.

It made him wonder if she was really as young as she claimed to be.

Ah… if only he still had access to the number zero two, then he could make use of her abilities to dig through the information and discover any traces of tampering by the end of the day.

Oh well, it wasn't like he couldn't do it himself but it would've been far more efficient to have the Sekirei do it for him.

"You wanted to see me Director-sama," he smiled upon seeing number one oh five standing before him, he had given instructions to the Disciplinary squad to go and 'talk' with Kashima-san, if just to keep up appearances but Benitsubasa was the one that was going to play the most important part of the meeting.

"Indeed I did number one oh five," he said with a wide grin adorning his face, "I just wanted to tell you something important, something I expect you to keep quiet from everyone else… including your Ashikabi."

The look of shock and uncertainty that was contained in her eyes was enough to tell him how conflicted the pink haired Sekirei was, she was loyal to MBI without a doubt, however she was a firm believer in the bond between a Sekirei and their Ashikabi so asking her to keep a secret from her Ashikabi was like telling her to sit in an electric chair and await execution.

"Don't feel too upset number one oh five," he said with a grin plastered on his face, "all I want you to do is be yourself when facing this new Ashikabi."

That seemed to confuse the Sekirei and he knew exactly why, normally she was told to keep her cool and try to not lash out at the Ashikabi she was supposed to be dealing with.

To be told that she didn't need to do that was strange at best.

"W-why are you asking that of me?" she was shocked and he decided to take a more serious expression than he usually liked to, it was always so much less stressful to just keep a smile on his lips.

"This Ashikabi mocked my dream," he stated firmly, "he mocked the Sekirei Plan and displayed a disdain for me and everything important to me… and with his criminal record I find myself feeling it is unlikely he won't try and use his new Sekirei for personal gain."

It was all a lie of course, he didn't really care that the boy mocked his dream since he now had the impression that it wasn't even his idea in the first place, and Kashima had probably the cleanest record he had ever seen, so he doubted the boy planned on using his Sekirei for personal gain.

And that's not even including the fact that the boy didn't seem even remotely scared of the idea of superpowered aliens running about the city and potentially targeting him.

It was almost like he was dealing with a version of Gabby Conway that didn't pretend he was scared.

"So you want me to kill him?" the pink haired Sekirei asked in surprise, he had never displayed any signs of wanting anyone dead before so why was he starting now.

"Oh no, I don't want him dead," he said overly dramatically, "I'm just prepared to cover up any… unfortunate accidents that may occur during your meeting with him."

The smile he gave her said everything he wanted it to as she bowed before him and left to deal with the newest Ashikabi.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki awoke to the sound of the doorbell ringing, much to his annoyance.

Sure he could've easily slept through it if he had put more power behind his magic (he still remembered the time he had gone to the Middle East and woke up to discover he'd been hit by a few mortar shells during an artillery strike) but since he was here with others he had opted to make the magic light.

Looking over to the sofa he saw that the non-human girl was still sleeping despite the doorbell ringing… and on his other side he was greeted by the sight of a tiny redhead in a blue leotard.

"Hey Pixie," he said as he rose from the chair and prepared himself to go and answer the front door.

"Hello there, how may I help you?" his old teachers voice called out as he heard the door open.

"Hello Takao-san, my name is Ichinomi Natsuo, a representative of MBI," the voice said in a calm and collected manner, "is Kashima Naoki available?"

Naoki walked over to the door, ready to intervene if things went south and came into sight while giving the visitor a once over.

He was tall, well dressed, had dark hair, an effeminate face and an empty smile adorning his face.

Behind him though were a pair of young women, both who were wearing some form of leather ensemble, though one had her zipper mostly pulled down revealing a large number of bandages instead of skin.

The one with bandages also had a gloomy look in her eyes and whitish grey hair that spiked all over the place, while the other one was rather petite but had long pink hair tied into a ponytail that fell down the side of her head.

"So I take it the girls are Sekirei," he found himself stating bluntly, it was unlikely they were normal human teenagers after all.

The older man blinked before releasing a sigh.

"Didn't anyone tell you that you're not supposed to let others know about this?" the visitor asked with his fake smile still on his face.

"No, but even if they did, it's hard to keep it a secret when your boss goes yelling about it over a video call," he stated bluntly in response to that question.

Natsuo seemed surprised by that response but quickly recovered with a smile.

"I see, then I guess I'll have to tell him to be more careful," the strange man stated easily as Naoki walked up to the front door and finally passed his old teacher.

"Is that all you came here for?" he asked the strange man easily.

"Well, I'm here because you're not being very cooperative," and here they were at the crux of the matter.

"And I don't intend on cooperating regardless of what you say," he answered easily, even though he was still using Marogareh due to staying with his old teacher, he could tell from the analysis ability he had never lost from his early days that the two Sekirei standing behind the man were not even close to being strong enough to hurt him, let alone inflict any actual damage.

Admittedly he rarely ever used that ability and it was honestly surprising for him to see that the superpowered creatures he was currently looking at were actually registering as lower than a standard Pixie in terms of pure power.

Not that he let that surprise show on his face, after all, it was simply another thing that helped reinforce his confidence that he could crush this man if he ever tried anything.

"You know that it would've been smarter for you to come with your Sekirei if you were going to go against us," the dark haired man stated with a sigh.

"She's still sleeping off the winging… though I suppose you are right," he admitted with a sigh of his own, "I'm far toomuch for you to handle after all."

It took a couple of seconds for the visitors to process that statement and he was greeted by the pinkette suddenly turning red from anger and waving her fist at him.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY?!" she was clearly not happy that he had dismissed her as a threat but given just how little power she had, he felt it was a perfectly acceptable situation.

"I said that she's still sleeping off the winging," he responded with the part that he knew would cause the most anger in the smallest of the group but he was surprised when the only male of the group put a hand in front of her.

"What do you mean by that?" the man sounded interested and that made it clear that the Winging wasn't supposed to be as violent as it was with the young girl.

"Nothing you need to worry about," he responded easily before noting the sigh that the man gave.

"If something went wrong then we need to check out the Sekirei," Natsuo stated a little more seriously than normal and Naoki found himself immediately distrusting this version of the man even more than the normal one.

"No, I want you to leave now," he informed the stranger bluntly.

"And so do I," Yuko stated from her position over his shoulder.

Then his awareness caught track of a rage fuelled fist heading straight towards his face, courtesy of the little pink haired girl.

He didn't bother dodging.

His eyes then shot open upon hearing a firm cracking sound from the impact zone and his mind started to wonder, had she been stronger than he had thought?

Her fist remained on his cheek for a couple of seconds as he tried to figure out why there wasn't any pain… before she jerked her hand away from him and started to cradle it.

"GAAHHH! D-DAMMIT!" he had to look on in surprise at the little girl as she practically started to cry as she looked at her fist, "h-h-h-how?"

Her voice finally decreased as she looked at her now quickly bruising fist with teary eyes.

"Hey? What happened Washboard?" the bandaged one with the claws asked in surprise and Naoki found himself suddenly feeling a little more sympathetic towards the pink haired girl… if that was how she'd been treated growing up then it wasn't that much of a surprise that she had such a short temper.

"Bastard broke my fist!" he felt himself releasing a sigh at that declaration, especially since if he had Masakados equipped she wouldn't have broken her hand on his face due to the very nature of nullification.

"And _how_ did he break your fist?" the grey haired woman asked with an amused tone.

"How the hell should I know?!" she was definitely angry and in pain given the high pitched nature of her current shouts.

Naoki was about to open his mouth when another voice cut in.

"Is there a reason you are harassing my neighbour?" he noted the way the dark haired man suddenly looked almost scared at hearing that voice before looking past the group and seeing the woman with light purple hair that he had spoken to earlier.

"Who the hell are you?!" the pink haired girl growled out through her teeth before the only male of the group interrupted.

"Benitsubasa," the man sounded serious now as he snapped at the girl, "hello Asama-san, are we disturbing you?"

"I believe you're disturbing my neighbour more," her response was clearly threatening despite the sweet tone she took with them.

"Well, unfortunately we were sent by the director due to his refusal to cooperate… surely you understand?" the man stated calmly now that he had had a few seconds to regain his composure, "and he even went so far to _not_ send the _other_ member of the squad just to minimize any disturbance that might affect you."

It was clear that there was some history with the woman and the conglomerate but that didn't change what his analyse ability told him about the woman.

She was more than twice as powerful as both of the other women _combined_.

The simple fact of the matter was, that if they tried to fight her they would be slaughtered before they could even react… provided this purple haired woman wanted to kill them that is.

It didn't change the fact that she was still weaker than a standard pixie though.

"Oh? Well, even if that is the case I would like to ask that you leave before my patience with your company wears thin," the fact she could say that with such an angelic smile on her face didn't surprise him… the Angels had joined Chiaki on her homicidal rampage in the Vortex World after all.

That seemed to make the man swallow nervously as he clearly made a quick decision.

"Well, the director won't like this but I suppose we'll just have to respect your stance on the matter," the man was still wearing his fake smile as he looked at the two Sekirei with him, "Benitsubasa, Haihane, it is time for us to leave."

"What?!" the pink haired girl seemed shocked by the sudden change in their mission if her sudden question was anything to go by.

"Kay," the grey haired woman seemed much easier going about it, "besides, that guy gives me the chills."

"Oh?" the older man sounded surprised as they started to walk pass the purple haired woman, "why's that?"

"His eyes remind me of Kuro-chan," well, her response made no sense to him but then again, it was obvious she was talking about someone he didn't know.

"… Yeah, though it's not quite the same," and with that the three entered a vehicle as the pink haired girl continued to make a ruckus over leaving so soon.

There was one thing he needed to say though.

"Hey! Benitsubasa!" he called out, causing the pinkette to turn to him with a still angry face as she continued to hold her hand, "sorry about your hand."

That seemed to leave the pink haired girl speechless, then again, it wasn't like they were doing what they were out of malice… they'd just been sent by their boss to deal with someone that wasn't cooperating.

Plus, if he had had Masakados equipped then she wouldn't have broken it in the first place.

The fact that he could dismiss such casual violence was something he shoved to the side as a side effect of being a demon but he wasn't really complaining, it's not like she could've harmed him even if she had tried and he'd spared far more dangerous foes before.

"Naoki-kun… you do realize it was her own fault for trying to punch you don't you?" Takao said with an amused grin as the Pinkette scowled and entered the car.

"Oh my, I hope you aren't hurt," the woman from next door said with a worried expression adorning her face.

"Yes I am, thank you for your concern Asama-san," he responded with a grateful smile, "and thank you for convincing them to leave."

"It's not a problem, I have some rather… unpleasant history with MBI myself," she seemed rather distasteful of the company as a certain undercurrent infected the entire sentence.

"Well, I'm sorry to have to cut our conversation short Asama-san, but there are a few things I need to get to now that I've been woken by those unwelcome visitors," he decided to end the conversation there and see how _his_ Sekirei was doing… it was strange to think of her as his, since even the demons he had contracted were his allies as opposed to belonging to him.

"I see, then I hope to see you later…" she trailed off at the end and he quickly came to the conclusion that she was looking for a name.

"Kashima Naoki," he informed her easily, "and may I get your name Asama-san?"

"Oh? Asking a young widow for her name," she was clearly teasing him and he found himself shrugging in response.

"Well then, I suppose I'll just make do with Asama-san," and with that he turned his back on the superpowered alien with a sword at her hip before hearing her speak up again.

"My, you certainly are hard to tease," the woman sounded rather put out by that fact but quickly continued, "Miya, my name is Asama Miya."

"I see, then I guess I'll see you later Asama-san," he continued to use the more formal form of address as he entered the house and made his way back to the lounge as Yuko proceeded to enter her own conversation with her neighbour.

As he entered the room, he was greeted by the girl he had shared a kiss with not that long ago now awake and sitting with her head held low.

"So, you're finally awake," he called out as she proceeded to look at him in confusion and sadness, "are you feeling all right?"

"I… I feel strange," she was clearly unused to the power that had been passed into her body, just as he had when he had first woken up after having Marogareh burrow into his skull.

"That will likely be my power now that it's flowing through your body," he stated calmly as he looked at her.

Honestly she didn't look any different to how she did before, but he knew that looks could be deceiving, after all, no-one expected him to be a demon given just how human he looked.

His analysis ability told him that she was definitely at least comparable to demons now, though she was probably still only comparable to him as he was when he first woke up in the Shinjuku Medical Centre.

Of course he had grown to the point that he was strong enough to kill Thor in a fist fight and force the Great Will to recreate the Universe as it was before it destroyed it so her starting off so weak wasn't really something to worry about if she had his own growth rate.

"Your power?" she sounded surprised by his claim and he decided to enlighten her.

"I told you I'm not human anymore," he stated easily, "when you kissed me some of my power flowed out of me and into you, your body has most likely changed to better accommodate that power."

"W-what is this power?" she sounded confused as she looked at her hand like she didn't even know it anymore.

"… I'm going to need you to listen and not freak out," he told her calmly, earning a widening of her eyes as she nodded in confirmation, "it is Demonic Power."

"Demonic Power?" she sounded almost confused before closing her eyes and breathing deeply, "I think I see."

He was surprised by how calm she was actually being right now.

"You seem awfully calm about this," he said with a small grin at her current reaction.

"I am your Sekirei and you are my Ashikabi…" she stated it as if that explained everything, "I can feel your heart, I know you don't love me, just as I know you are a kind person but that you enjoy fighting."

He didn't try to deny any of it, after all, it was all true.

Though he only really enjoyed fighting when the foe was a challenge, that situation made him feel alive… slaughtering the weak only made him bored and make him wonder how much of a waste those deaths were.

It was probably why he looked down on humans so much now, none of them could give him a good fight and many of them didn't truly apply themselves to anything they could do.

"And as your Sekirei, I will accept you for everything you are," she informed him with a bright smile, "just as I hope to one day earn your love."

"Good luck with that," he stated with a grin, "because you've got some pretty stiff competition."

"As long as I can earn your love, I don't care how many others share in that love," he felt his eyes widen at that claim… was she seriously saying she was fine with him having multiple partners?

Now if she was a natural demon then he could understand that without any issues, after all, most demons were physically incapable of love… attraction and seduction yes, but not actual love, but she _wasn't_ a natural demon and seemed to consider love above everything else… so he had been expecting her to be the jealous girlfriend type.

Honestly, this had probably been the one thing that had caught him the most flat footed in the last decade.

"I see," it was all he could really say as he shook his head to clear his thoughts once again.

This girl was something completely alien to everything he had ever known… which he supposed was quite amusing given how Minaka had said she _was_ an alien.

"So you're awake," he looked over his shoulder to see Yuko standing at the entrance to the lounge now that she had finished whatever conversation she was having with her neighbour.

"Um… yes, thank you, uh…" the girl sounded both grateful and uncertain.

"Takao Yuko," the oldest person in the room stated with a soft smile, "may I know your name?"

"Ah… my name is Yashima," she sounded uncertain about how much to give out from what Naoki could tell.

"Don't worry about hiding anything from Yuko, she overheard that idiot of a director when he video called me," he informed the girl who released a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear, I wasn't sure I could keep everything a secret if we were around her too long," well, at least Yashima was honest about it.

"Don't worry about it," he informed her easily, "Yuko probably knows even more than me about everything."

"That's not true," her response was calm and composed as she continued to watch him with an amused smile on her face.

"Yuko, you're the one that taught me everything I know," he informed her calmly.

"No, I taught you how to learn and think about things," he honestly considered that proof that she had taught him everything he knew, because without her tuition he would've likely never have learned anywhere near as much as he did throughout his life.

"Exactly," he decided to answer it like that and after processing what he had just said she started to laugh lightly, "so, I take it you've figured out that Asama-san is a Sekirei."

"It's hard not to given what I've just seen," her answer was expected, "I always knew she wasn't human but I was never able to identify what she was until now."

"Uh… who's Asama-san?" Naoki's own Sekirei asked curiously.

"My next door neighbour," the older of the two women stated easily.

"You'd better not plan on adding her to your collection," he heard the voice of Pixie speak up as Yashima blinked in confusion before looking at the tiny girl.

"Uh… hello?" the Sekirei seemed uncertain about how to respond to the fairy but was trying to be at least amicable.

"Don't mind Pixie, she's one of my oldest friends," he decided to inform the alien who simply looked a bit more certain now that she was being told the little redhead was a friend.

"Hello there Pixie, I'm," she was about to introduce herself before the Fae cut her off.

"Yashima," the little girl in the blue leotard sound very unhappy to be speaking with the far shyer girl., "I heard,"

The brown haired girl looked very put out by the rather hostile reaction from Pixie but he decided to let her know the most important thing about living with Pixie.

"Don't take it personally Yashima," she perked up at hearing his voice, "Pixie is just like that with every girl I speak to… and you should've seen her that one time I called Parvati my girlfriend."

"You called Parvati your girlfriend?" Yuko sounded amused at his claim.

"Uh, excuse me, who's Parvati?" the newly winged Sekirei asked in confusion.

"Hindu Goddess of Love," he dismissed off handedly before continuing his story, "… I sort of slept through an artillery strike and was woken up by the rescue team… when they asked how I was unharmed… well… Parvati was on hand and the excuse of having a wild night was a bit too tempting to pass up."

"Hmph!" Pixie didn't seem too happy about that particular situation so he decided to tease her a little too.

"Come on Pixie, you've been my main influence over the decades," he commented easily, "so in the end it was actually your fault I did that."

"... Shut up Naoki," she stated with a pout, clearly unhappy at being accused for his decision to use an excuse like that.

"Hehe," he heard Yashima starting to giggle and found himself smiling slightly at her quick acceptance of the new situation she was now stuck in and how easily she was adjusting to his and Pixies antics.

He stopped his train of thought there before boarding a new one.

She most likely didn't _need_ to adjust so quickly.

He hadn't been thinking about it since there had been other more important issues to deal with in the moment but Yashima had absorbed and assimilated some of his power.

That actually made her something similar to himself, a Hitoshura but instead of having a human base she had a Sekirei as a base.

She wanted to earn his love and from what he had gathered of their previous conversation, she loved him already due to her very biology.

He swallowed as that realization sunk in for the first time since he had winged her.

She loved him, could understand him due to her ability to feel his heart and most importantly… she wouldn't die like Yuko eventually would.

"Naoki-kun? Are you all right?" his old teacher asked as he let his emotions slip,

"Y-yeah, I'm all right," he let out uncertainly, "it's just sunk in just what being an Ashikabi means."

The smile he got from the young alien was radiant as she cupped his face much to his surprise.

"Yes… we'll be together… forever," she said with a gentle voice full of _love_ as he felt that same love flowing through the bond they shared.

And for the first time since realizing he wasn't going to age… he found himself praying to Lucifer that this relationship would work.

… Well it's not like he was going to pray to God, that guy was the biggest dick he knew of after all.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Minaka couldn't stop himself from thinking on the report he had received from the Disciplinary Squad and one oh five in particular.

She had punched Kashima Naoki in the face and instead of dodging or anything even remotely reasonable, he had simply ignored it as Benitsubasa hit him… and broke her fist in the process.

Now he knew he was being played like a pawn, there were clearly higher forces involved that he didn't even know about and Kashima was considered a threat on that level.

The idea that there were beings more powerful than the Sekirei was intimidating, exciting and explained why Gabby was unafraid of Karasuba… because she was most likely so powerful that the Sekirei didn't stand a chance against her in a fight.

It also explained Kashima's statement to him, " _Look little man, the gods are still here, you're just lucky enough that they aren't paying you any attention"_.

He had to grin at that idea, to think that the gods still walked the Earth and he didn't even realize it!

And from what he had just discovered, it seemed that these gods were as far beyond Sekirei as Sekirei were beyond humans… if not more so.

"It seems you were wrong Kashima-kun… it would seem that the gods _are_ paying attention to me," he muttered to himself with a grin as he decided it was time to try and research something he had never put any stock in before… perhaps the Occult would give him some clue as to what role he was unknowingly playing.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Gabby Conway entered a small room hidden off from the rest of MBI as her mind raced after hearing the report from the Disciplinary Squad.

There was no doubt in her mind at all now, it was _him_.

And there was no way Minaka would ignore the fact that the pink haired pawn had broken its hand on the demons face, that was simply too obvious.

She had spent so long keeping the Director of the company in the dark of what was really going on, of the true nature of the Sekirei plan she had inspired but now he was going to start questioning things and with his inherent genius, there was no guarantee he wouldn't eventually discover the answers to the questions he would ask.

" **Why have you called for me,"** the power behind the voice that appeared behind her was unquestionable but that was to be expected given who the owner of the voice was.

"We have an issue," she admitted, "the Hitoshura has become an Ashikabi."

Silence reigned as she felt the phantom pain that still plagued her existence from the last time she had encountered the human turned demon.

" **Continue to monitor the situation,"** the one behind this plan stated firmly, **"should it prove an obstacle, then I shall deal with it myself."**

She couldn't stop herself from swallowing in nervousness at that claim, despite the power of the one that was before her right now, the Hitoshura had grown from a normal human to a being powerful enough to force an aspect of the Great Will to bend to his will in less than a week… there was no telling just how powerful he had become in the past twenty years.

"What should I do if he should act against us?" she asked, praying that such a thing wouldn't happen.

" **Run, you were no match for him when you were at full power,"** she flinched at that statement knowing it was the truth, **"with your early recreation, your power is worthless against such a foe."**

"And what of _him_? Will he help us?" she had to ask because without him, they would struggle, but with him then they stood a very good chance of victory.

" **This is below his standing, he will not assist us,"** that was both expected and disappointing, he only truly intervened when the _True Enemy_ was making headway against his master.

"I understand Sir," she acknowledged with a bow, "I shall continue to try and guide Minaka along the correct path."

" **See that you do,"** and with that, the owner of the voice vanished and she found herself alone once again.

And to think, everything had been going so smoothly till now.

* * *

And that's it for today.

Unlike this chapter, chapter 3 has not yet been finished and so you'll have to wait for me to finish it before I update again.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter at least.

Shadow Out.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, I'm back... this chapter has actually been finished for a little while but I kept forgetting to post it.

Anyway, there wasn't much in terms of things that need to be addressed in the reviews but there is something I do need to address in them.

I'm _not_ using Dante from Devil May Cry. Out of all the different variations of the game that exist in Japan, he only appears in one and in the later variant of the game, his role is replaced by Kuzunoha Raido the Fourteenth... so this Naoki has met Raido, not Dante.

Anyway... now that that is over, let's get on with the show.

* * *

Naoki slowly opened his eyes as his sleep magic wore off.

He was quick to actually wake but that didn't mean he wanted to get out of bed right now, after all, the consuming warmth of being covered in sheets was very comforting.

Normally he wouldn't be able to feel that warmth due to always having Masakados burrowed in his skull but now that he was in Yuko's house, he felt comfortable enough to do so.

The extra warmth that wasn't normally next to him confused him though and he found himself looking to his side and remembering the previous day.

Yashima, the alien that had bonded with him as a… mate? Lover? He wasn't really sure how to describe the bond… she was right there, wearing a rather simple set of white pyjamas as she practically snuggled up to him.

He almost sweatdropped at just how quickly she was doing things like that… especially given how she was supposed to be sleeping in another room all together.

Well, he wasn't going to complain, the warmth of another was quite pleasant as far as he was concerned.

It would also be amusing to see how Pixie would react to the scene… well, either amusing or terrifying depending on just how pissed off she got, there _was_ a reason he considered her his most powerful subordinate after all.

It didn't take long for him to move out from her grip and move to get changed, uncaring of the alien's presence in the room.

Leaving the room he quickly made his way to the kitchen and noted the lack of presences that were currently awake, then again, it was still early, so he started to prepare breakfast.

Honestly, he was probably a significantly better cook than Yuko, mainly because he had had a few jobs in Diners all over the world and had ended up helping out around the kitchens on occasion, which resulted in him learning a few things, which resulted in him spending more time in the kitchen and learning more and then he'd end up in another café and occasionally have to help out in the kitchen which would result in him helping the chef more and the cycle continued.

Honestly, given all the different tricks he'd learned, he was probably close to a One Michelin Star chef in terms of skill… of course they were better than him since they dedicated their lives to their craft but he wasn't far off.

"It smells like you've gotten even better at cooking since we last met," the voice of his teacher called out and he gave a soft smile as he turned to face her.

"I've had a few more jobs that ended up with me cooking since we last met," he admitted easily before turning back to the breakfast he was preparing, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm the one that should be asking you that," she responded with a soft grin, "you are the one that's bonded to a psychic alien after all."

He couldn't stop himself from give a soft laugh at that.

"Well, it'll probably take some time to get used to it but it'll be nice to have someone with human like emotions that can live on with me," he admitted as his mind went back to its darkest place, the place where he knew Yuko was going to die within a few decades and he would live on for as long as it took for him to get himself killed.

"I hope things work out with her," he could hear a hint of sadness in her tone as she made that claim and he didn't need to be told why.

The simple fact was that Yashima could potentially do what she couldn't… she could act as his human support for the rest of his life.

"Thank you," he responded honestly, the fact that she was willing to support the situation despite the fact there was the issue of her being replaced really meant a lot to him, "and there is someone I would've rather been in this situation with."

"I know," he heard the cutlery clacking as she started to set out the table and he continued to cook breakfast.

"You're making an awful lot today," her statement wasn't filled with any judgement or concern, clearly she was happy for him to make however much he felt he needed.

"You'll see why when Yashima wakes up," he informed her easily before setting out a plate for his old teacher, "here you go."

"Thank you," she responded as he continued his preparations for breakfast.

"Uh… that shmells sooo good," he almost laughed upon hearing the voice of the alien that had chosen to sleep with him… to think that she couldn't actually speak properly due to tiredness, he had always thought that sort of thing only happened in anime.

"Good morning Yashima," he stated before piling up a plate for the bipedal black hole he had gotten the previous day, "here you go."

The look of happiness that appeared on her face upon being presented the plate was obvious as she practically snatched it out of his hand with a quick 'thank you' before setting herself at the table and devouring the food with a quick cry of 'itadakimasu'.

The expression that appeared on Yuko's face upon seeing the alien eat was far more amused than surprised, then again, the thought that she hadn't realized the alien had a higher metabolic rate than a human was just plain stupid given just how intelligent the woman was.

Eventually the alien seemed to finish eating her fill and he finished off the cooking with something significantly tamer than what she had consumed for his own breakfast.

"Naoki-sama, that was amazing!" the little brown haired girl stated with stars in her eyes when she was finally awake enough to do anything more than eat.

"It's not that good," he informed her with a blank expression, "I've met many different chefs that are on a whole other level to me."

"But Naoki-sama's food was soo good," she seemed awfully chirpy now that she had tasted his cooking for the first time.

"Like I said, there are plenty of better chefs than me… I should know, I learned under them," that seemed to make her blink before her softer smile returned.

"I think that Naoki-sama is being too harsh on himself," she said easily as she watched him sit down with his own food.

"And I think you've never tried the food of a three Michelin star chef," he responded bluntly.

"A what?" he had to laugh at that as he was reminded that the girl didn't know that much about the world as a whole… but there was plenty of time to correct that.

"It's a standard for restaurants, three stars are the highest and I don't even rank at a one star," that seemed to make her brain stop as she processed just how big a difference in quality there must be between the best the world had to offer and what he was providing her.

"So, Naoki-kun," Yuko spoke up, breaking the amused grin that had spread across her face, "what do you plan on doing today?"

"Finding a job," he admitted easily as he thought of how hard it had gotten to apply without raising too many questions in the interconnected age.

"It'll be almost impossible to get a job with how you brushed off MBI," her response made him think over the fact that MBI owned the entire city and now, he was probably going to have to deal with whatever restrictions that idiot of a director had decided to place on him.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Minaka happily looked over the information he had gathered about Kashima Naoki as he watched Gabby Conway enter his office with a cup of coffee ready for his consumption.

"Minaka-sama, your coffee," she said with her usual air of professionalism as she set the mug on his desk.

"Ah, perfect timing Conway-chan," he said with his usual smile on his face, "I was just looking for some input."

"Of course Minaka-sama," he just knew she was going to regret those words when he told her just what he was going to ask.

"Bar or fire?" he asked without putting any context into his question, earning a confused blink from the woman.

"May you please explain what you are asking me?" she responded with obvious confusion and so he enlightened her.

"Kashima-san of course," there it was, that fear was back, "should I bar him from taking any jobs or fire his old teacher?"

He saw the woman's face crack a little at that as her eyes went into a full on panic at his explanation.

"Are you certain that is necessary Minaka-sama?" her voice was mostly calm but had an undercurrent of panic that he had never heard in it before.

Honestly it was quite amusing to see his normally completely composed secretary falling apart like she was but at the same time, he wasn't aware of what she was capable of yet so he wouldn't push her too far.

"Hmm… I suppose I could hold off on it for a little while, at least until the third stage," he admitted with a casual shrug, "by that point though he'll need to be put in line."

He noted the conflicting emotions of relief and concern flooding her eyes as she bowed once again and took her leave for parts unknown… he however had his own matters to attend to.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

The day passed by like any other day he was settling down in a new area, with him going out, getting job interviews and performing the routine to appeal to the interviewer as much as possible.

He would admit that it had been awhile since he had been back in Japan but he was getting into the flow of things easily enough despite his last country of residence being The United Kingdom which had a very different philosophy on what you were supposed to do in an interview.

Still, at least he had more than enough experience to treat interviews with the same level of nervousness as he did waiting for a plane to depart.

So it was just another thing he did on a regular basis as far as he was concerned.

Walking back to Yuko's house, he found his mind wandering once again, back to the idea of actually having a being with human like emotions that would be with him for the rest of his life… well, provided she wasn't killed before then but that wasn't particularly likely.

Arriving back at the house he was currently occupying, he opened the door before stalling when his ears picked up something he was not used to, especially given how Yuko was still at school now that the summer holidays had ended.

"Welcome home Ashikabi-sama," he had to blink upon seeing Yashima sitting there, right in front of the door with a bright smile on her face.

"… Yashima… have you been waiting there all day?" he asked her with a blank expression on his face.

"N-no, you said your interviews finished at eleven and you'd probably be home by twelve," she said with a blush creeping up her face, "s-so… I've only been waiting here about an… an hour."

"Yashima, can you do something for me?" he asked her with a soft expression adorning his face.

"I'll do anything you ask of me Ashikabi-sama!" she sounded enthusiastic as he mentioned giving her orders… he was pretty sure she was going to be disappointed with what he wanted.

"Don't call me Ashikabi, don't refer to me with sama or dono and don't let your entire life revolve around me," he said with a blank expression as he watched the alien girl's face grow confused before it clearly became shocked by his request.

"W-w-what?" she sounded almost heartbroken and he realized he needed to make it clear to her exactly what he meant.

"Yashima, I don't need you to be my Sekirei," he stated easily and he could tell that tears were building up in her eyes, "what I need you to be, is my anchor, the person that will be with me forever and help me keep my humanity when everything else is gone."

The tears seemed to halt at that and she seemed to focus on what he was saying with an intent he rarely saw in anyone.

"For you to take that role, you _can't_ be subservient to me," his statement made her eyes widen further, "I need you to act not as my servant, but as my equal, to question my decisions when they seem to be wrong, to treat me like a normal person, not a master… otherwise, I'm certain my humanity will corrode and I'll be left as nothing more than a True Demon."

That was his greatest fear, that he would forget the courage and drive that had led to him recreating the world as it was, to reviving everyone that was killed by that horrific event known as the Conception.

He was afraid he would finish walking down that path of Darkness, that he would reach the end of the Labyrinth and be unable to turn back.

"Can you do that for me Yashima?" he asked her firmly and he found those previously watery eyes closed before they opened with a steely determination within them.

"Hai Ashi… Naoki-kun," she quickly caught herself as she gave her answer.

"Thank you Yashima," he gave her a soft ruffle of her hair as he moved to the living room and made his way back to the computer, ready to search for any more job vacancies he could find.

"N-Naoki-kun…" he let his attention return to the Sekirei after she spoke up after several minutes.

"There's no reason to be so nervous Yashima," he said easily as he looked her in the eyes, "just say what you want to say… well, unless you're going to try and promote a religion, then just know I've probably murdered whatever god you're trying to get me to believe in."

That seemed to elicit a small laugh from the brunette as she gave him the same nervous smile as before as she spoke.

"I-I'm hungry," she sounded rather uncertain and he found himself releasing a sigh as he realized just what she was asking.

"All right, I'll make you something to eat," he acknowledged as he rose from his seat and made his way to the kitchen for the second time that day.

Time passed by quickly enough as he worked on making enough food for the voracious alien and himself and let his thoughts wander back to the concept of MBI basically distributing aliens among the general populace.

On one hand, the man was clearly being careless and creating some sort of competition between the aliens but on the other, he didn't really care if the aliens were in his city as long as they didn't cause too much trouble.

Eventually though, he set the table and put all the food he had made on top of it before calling Yashima over for their lunch.

"Itadakimasu!" the excitable young girl said with a joyful cry as she started to shovel the food into her mouth and he took a more sedate pace in his own consumption of sustenance.

Looking at the brown haired girl, he found himself dealing with conflicted emotions.

She was going to be with him for the rest of her life, she would be there to keep him grounded and keep his human heart intact… but in the end, she wasn't Yuko and accepting her felt more difficult than it should.

"Uh, Naoki-kun," he was once again interrupted from his thoughts by the little girl as she started to ask something else of him, "where is Pixie-san?"

"Dismissed," he stated bluntly, "I don't know where she is but she's dismissed right now."

"… Um… why don't you call for her?" the alien girl was clearly confused by his reluctance to call his first demonic friend, so he decided to put it to her bluntly.

"Because if I call her, then we're liable to learn what it feels like to be hit in the face by a small nuclear explosion," he stated bluntly.

"What? Why?" she sounded almost scared now.

"She gets jealous," he informed her simply, wondering how she hadn't noticed that from their previous encounter, "and you snuck into my bed last night… so right now, I would rather pick a fight with the Archangels than summon Pixie."

That explanation seemed to make her nervous, then again, given the fact that Pixie probably would at least maim her for sneaking into his bed… he honestly didn't blame her for being uncertain.

He shook his head as he removed the memories of what Pixie did when he had called Parvati his girlfriend… he was just thankful that death didn't stick with natural demons.

In the end, he planned on leaving the little fairy alone until he found something for her to blow up instead of them… of course that would take quite some time but given what he knew of the world and how demons were far more common than people thought, he was confident he could eventually find something that could preoccupy the tiny fae.

Plus, if he left her long enough then she would probably cool off about Yashima and instead try and rip him a new one for leaving her for so long.

And despite how painful facing an irate Pixie might be, he at least knew she wouldn't kill him, something he wasn't too certain about when it came to Yashima.

"Is she really that dangerous?" he didn't really blame Yashima for asking that question, after all, generally Pixies were some of the weakest demons around and their appearance reflected that.

However, that was what the species in general was like… and his pixie was most certainly not a normal representation of her race.

"She ranks in the top ten most powerful beings I've met," he stated bluntly, "so let's put it this way… she's strong enough to wipe the floor with at least three of the Archangels."

The Sekirei seemed to be surprised by that claim, then again, it was hard to not judge that particular book by its cover… after all who would've thought that a pink book with fluffy edges was really a tome of eldritch horror and certain death?

"Really? She doesn't look that powerful," Yashima seemed to require clarification so he decided to just be blunt with her.

"Generally Pixies are some of the weakest demons around," he started, causing her to look at him curiously, "however due to circumstances and the blessing of Amala, my Pixie is exceptionally powerful despite her appearance being that of a regular member of her race."

"Oh, I see," the Sekirei responded with her head lowering as she clearly tried to process that information.

With that the conversation between the two stalled into a surprisingly uncomfortable silence, one that simply felt like more should be said but he just couldn't figure out what more there was to say as he finished up his lunch before preparing himself to start searching the internet for more jobs he could apply for.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Higa Izumi was not the most intimidating of men… if anything he was better described as a 'pretty boy'.

That did not change the fact that he was the head of the Higa Conglomerate that had been at the forefront of medical and technological advancements since before he was born.

And then MBI had formed.

Hiroto Minaka was a man that Izumi considered his mortal enemy, an eccentric idiot that had managed to push technology and medicine beyond anything that had been seen before and in turn, destroy most of the market that the Higa Conglomerate had held a good share of.

Now his company was having to compete with the unreasonable advances made by the upstart in order to simply remain solvent and not be forced to declare itself bankrupt.

And then he had learned the truth.

Minaka wasn't some genius inventor, he was just some delusional moron that had gotten lucky and come across an alien spaceship that he scavenged his technology from.

To make matters even worse, the white haired idiot had even sent those aliens out to 'bond' with people for some kind of tournament.

He didn't know the legitimacy of this event and the so called prize, but the board of directors that had been chosen to help the company make the correct decisions had demanded that he participate when he had become one of those 'Ashikabi'.

Of course he didn't believe these 'Sekirei' were really his, they had been given out by MBI after all, so it was most likely that they were spies or saboteurs sent to finish off his company.

He wouldn't allow that.

That was why he wouldn't allow 'his' Sekirei to remain near him or roam any of his buildings freely.

He would not let Minaka win whatever war he was waging.

His attention was disrupted by the sound of his door opening but when he looked up he did not see what he was expecting to see.

His childhood friend Kakizaki had been his secretary since he could remember, there was no one he would trust with as much as he entrusted that man with.

What he saw however was most certainly _not_ his secretary.

Instead of the dark hair man that was unquestioningly loyal to him, there was an unnatural beauty, a woman with pitch black hair styled in a pompadour of all things with a figure that surpassed any supermodel he had seen despite the business suit she wore.

Because of that, he just knew this woman was a Sekirei.

"Where is my secretary?" he asked, he honestly hoped his childhood friend was safe but if Minaka had sent a new Sekirei to deal with him then there was no guarantee.

"He is simply taking a nap," her response made him swallow nervously, after all, Kakizaki was a very diligent man who would never sleep on a job unless someone had done something to him.

"Tell me, who are you and why are you here?" he asked with as much confidence as he could muster.

"You may call me Yuriko," the woman introduced herself as she took a seat opposite him, "and I am here because my master wishes to make you an offer."

He found his eyes narrowing in distaste at that claim, the fact that Minaka thought making an offer through an intermediary would work was insulting as far as he was concerned.

"I don't know what Minaka wants but," he stopped upon feeling a crushing feeling of smallness as the woman before him suddenly looked far more dangerous than ever before.

"I do not work for that pawn," he could literally feel the animosity coming from the woman as she continued to stare at him.

The part that caught his attention the most though was the wording she used to describe the owner of MBI.

"What do you mean by 'Pawn'?" he asked, honestly he understood what she was saying but the thought of someone being behind Minaka and directing him wasn't something he had considered before.

"Minaka is but an unwitting pawn in a much greater conflict," her voice was clear and confident, "and my master is the enemy of those that control Minaka."

"Then what do you want of me?" he asked, wondering just what he was getting himself into.

The smile the woman gave was chilling.

"I want you to help destroy the Sekirei Plan."

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

"I'm home," Naoki found himself smiling upon hearing Yuko's voice call from the front door, "Naoki-kun, can you give me a hand with the groceries?"

"Sure," he immediately left the computer and walked over to meet his old teacher who was carrying a few bags of groceries into the kitchen.

"There are more in the Taxi, could you get them?" he gave her a nod of confirmation as he moved out of the house and through the front gate to see the taxi she had just mentioned.

He didn't take long picking up all the remaining bags as the older woman left her house and walked towards the driver and paying for the fare after closing the back door as he took the bags into the house.

Upon placing the bags on the work surface, he proceeded to start putting everything away as he noted what he could make out of it all and whether or not it would be enough to feed Yashima.

"Ah, Naoki-kun, do you need any help?" the brown haired girl spoke up from the entrance to the kitchen just as he thought about that.

"No, I'm fine Yashima," he answered easily as he finished putting everything in the right place.

"Umm… Naoki-kun," she sounded hesitant again and he looked her way before asking.

"Are you hungry again?" it was the first thing he could think of but she shook her head in the negative.

"I… I wanted to ask you something," she clarified and he found himself smiling in amusement.

"Yashima, I already told you to feel free to ask me anything," he pointed out and she continued to look nervous as she opened her mouth.

"W-why don't you call me chan?" he had to blink that that question as he realized that he tended to not use honorifics anymore.

"Uh, it's not you," he stated simply, "I've been in Western countries for quite some time and they don't use honorifics like the people in this country normally do."

"Haven't you noticed that he doesn't even call me by an honorific?" the young alien almost jumped as Yuko spoke up from behind her, "honestly since he got here I've only heard him call Pixie 'chan' and that was just to butter her up so she didn't blow us up."

"O-oh… I see," her expression was downcast as she received that answer and he found himself internally coming to a decision.

"Is that everything you wanted to ask Yashima-chan?" it may not have come off his tongue without thinking about it but saying it did have a natural flow that he was certain he could get back into.

However, seeing the girl brighten up at his decision to call her that made any strangeness at using the term again obsolete.

"Y-yes Naoki-kun," she sounded surprisingly happy but he came to the conclusion that since the species was paired off for life, simply being referred to affectionately was a rather important thing to her, "a-and um… th-thank you."

He found himself distracted by Yuko as she smiled from behind the younger girl, obviously agreeing with his decision to take the hint.

"It's fine Yashima-chan," he responded as he thought about earlier, "you're prepared to do what I ask of you, so it wouldn't be fair if I didn't do the same."

That seemed to surprise the alien and she quickly responded in a completely natural tone.

"But I'm a Sekirei," she said in a manner that made it sound like what she was saying was common sense, "it's our nature to do what our Ashikabi tells us to."

"And that's not what I want," he informed her seriously, "I want you to think about yourself instead of just me, I want you to have your own life outside of me."

The uncertain way she looked away from him at that claim made it clear that what he wanted was something she was unsure she could deliver… but she had plenty of time to grow as a person and find her own interests beyond just doing what he wanted her to.

"But our Ashikabi are our life," he found himself releasing a quiet sigh at that, "if they die then we die, if they are unhappy then we are unhappy."

That point about them dying wasn't something he recalled hearing before but it didn't really surprise him, their bond seemed to be very important so it was only natural that the side effects would be powerful.

But it did make something clear to him as the words formed in his mouth.

"And I want to remain human," he stated firmly, "and in order to do that, I need someone I can rely on to pull out that humanity and complete subservience will not help."

It was important to him that he retained his humanity because if he didn't… well, he _was_ ranked up in the highest tier of beings in existence so that could end _very_ badly for everyone.

"I… I think I understand Naoki-kun," she still seemed hesitant but there was a certain steel in her voice that made it clear to him that she was going to do everything she could to keep him human, "I will do my b-best to become the woman you want me t-to be."

"That's all I ask," he responded softly, "just try and gain a bit of confidence and find something you enjoy doing without me."

She still looked rather down as he walked over to her and put a hand on top of her head in a friendly manner.

"Just relax," he continued with a soft smile, "you've got plenty of time and I don't plan on rushing you."

Upon saying that, he idly wondered if he had come across as wanting her to change right now, because despite that not being his intention it could've very easily seemed that way.

"I-I see," she seemed a little surprised by his statement which he internally groaned at… it seemed he _had_ been misinterpreted when it came to time frame.

"Did you think I wanted you to find something soon?" he decided to ask her bluntly, earning a nervous nod from the younger girl, "Yashima-chan, you should never rush trying to find something you enjoy."

That seemed to make her relax a little so he decided to just point out what he wanted.

"I just want you to try things and if you find yourself enjoying it then take it up as a hobby," he clarified before something else popped into his head, "except shopping, I can't afford to support that hobby."

That seemed to get a small laugh out of the light brown haired girl and he found himself smiling himself.

"Anyway," he spoke up again, "are you hungry Yuko, Yashima-chan?"

"It would be nice to have something to eat," the older of the women responded with a smile as Yashima nodded her own head in agreement before hesitating again.

"Naoki-kun…" she trailed off as her eyes moved away nervously, "w-would it be all right if… I mean… c-could you please teach me how to cook?"

"Sure thing Yashima-chan," he answered easily, while he hadn't expected her to try her hand at cooking, he wasn't going to deny her that skill… besides, despite his skill at the art, he _was_ used to helping others so he most certainly was not territorial about the kitchen or who cooked his meals.

Just as long as she didn't expect to prevent him from cooking anything himself then there wouldn't be an issue.

"Well then, I will leave you two to it," Yuko spoke up with a smile as she left the duo to their preparations.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Sitting at the table, Naoki found himself thinking back on his time with Yashima preparing the food that was currently sitting before them.

Her confidence may have been low at the start of the lesson but it quickly grew at a rate that was hard to believe.

However, the times that her confidence seemed to grow the most was actually when she made a mistake and he corrected her… he guessed the fact that he was being as kind as he could when doing so was helping her come to terms with the idea that even if she messed up a little, he wasn't going to abandon or shout at her.

It actually made him wonder just what had happened to her to cause her to suffer from such a nervous disposition.

"So Yashima-chan," he started to speak after swallowing a piece of pork, "how do you feel about cooking so far?"

"It was nice," she answered far more confidently than before but quickly looked down with a clear hint of unhappiness, "but it's not as good as it was when you made it yourself."

"That's only natural," he responded easily as he took another bite of the meal that was laid out before them, "I've probably been cooking since before you were born, so I've got far more experience than you do in the kitchen."

The young alien didn't get a chance to respond before he continued, "and trust me when I say this, I was nowhere near as good as you are right now when I first started."

It was true, when he had first started cooking he had nearly started a fire… Yashima had done nothing close to that wrong on her first attempt at cooking.

"T-thank you," she sounded almost flustered at his claim, then again, he was saying that she had more natural talent than he did, so her reaction was what seemed the most natural for her personality.

Dinner carried on as the group ate before a crash came from the place next door and Naoki found himself looking in the general direction of the house with the other Sekirei.

"Does your neighbour normally make that much noise?" he asked his old teacher who simply looked in the same direction as he was before responding.

"Not normally, Asama-san is generally very conscientious about how much noise is made," Yuko answered calmly.

"Well, I suppose I'll just leave it for now," he dismissed the noise as he went back to his meal.

After all, regardless of what it was that had caused such a ruckus, he doubted it would be anything dangerous.

Besides, if it turned out that one of the tenants was practicing demon summoning then he'd at least get something for Pixie to take her frustration out on sooner rather than later.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Minaka furrowed his brow as he processed the text he had just read on Shinto traditions of mysticism and finding nothing that could benefit his search for knowledge concerning what he was facing.

However, that was to be expected, he had no expectation of finding something so soon after he started on his research, especially when he had no idea what he was actually looking for in the first place.

"You look lost Hiroto Minaka," a voice called out from behind him, causing him to turn to face whoever it was that had caught him during his new studies.

The figure was currently hidden in the shadows however that didn't change the fact that he could clearly make out a pair of great, raven-like wings sprouting from its back.

"I take it that it is safe to assume you do not wish to kill me yet," he stated as he came to the simple conclusion that if this being wanted him dead then he would most likely already be a corpse.

"That is correct," the stranger said in a manner that made it clear they couldn't be trusted.

"Then why are you here? Are you going to try and keep me from finding out about whatever you and Conway-chan are?" he asked curiously as he turned to face his foe completely.

"No, I am simply here to offer guidance to a lost soul," the shadowed stranger stated in that same tone.

"Really? I honestly find that hard to believe," Minaka admitted easily as he kept his eyes trailed on the winged stranger.

The stranger sounded almost amused before he spoke up once again.

"Search for the Kabbalah," Minaka found himself focusing on that word, "that is where you will find what you are looking for."

That was strange, however the head of MBI did not simply ignore the situation at large.

"And why would you help me?" it was the important question and the one that he just knew this stranger would either answer cryptically or not at all.

"Individuals can do foolish things when they are working off incomplete knowledge," he closed his eyes as he tried to process that information before realizing that he didn't have enough information to come to an answer.

However, when he opened his eyes, the stranger was nowhere to be found and he found himself more surprised at his lack of surprise than the fact that the stranger had vanished without a trace.

It looked like things were getting even more confusing… but he decided that it wouldn't hurt to look up what had been recommended to him by the stranger.

And so he searched the term online before finding what he was looking for.

"Jewish Mysticism?" he raised an eyebrow before starting to read what he had just found.

Maybe he might just find out something that had been lost to him before then.

* * *

And that's it for today.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter but so far things are still just getting set up so I won't complain if you feel the story is progressing too slowly.

So until next time...

Shadow out.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay... first things first.

As anyone who read's Projected Denial will already know, the reason for the lack of updates over the past... year or so came to light to me recently when I discovered that I had unknowingly been suffering from depression.

Because of that I didn't feel like writing, thus, not much writing got done... especially not writing for my main fics that actually have expectations.

Anyway, I have turned off my PM function because of how frequently I have been receiving the same questions.

If you have anything to say to me, or any questions to ask concerning my fics, then my Forum will likely already have the answer and I am on there every day (the link to my forum is on my profile page).

Anyway... that's all I've really got to say right now so let's just get on with this story.

* * *

Kashima Naoki shifted as he found himself waking up much like he had the previous day.

With a warmth next to him that was quickly growing familiar.

It seemed that once again, Yashima had snuck into his bed in the middle of the night.

Honestly he was beginning to wonder if there was any point in going to sleep in different rooms given her tendency to do this.

Shaking his head, he repeated his actions from the previous day and easily escaped the alien's grip before getting ready for his day.

He had more job hunting to do after all.

Honestly he would like it if he received information back about his earlier interviews but he knew that such a thing would be outright unviable due to the simple fact that they would have to sort through everything they got from the applicants and determine who would actually get the job in the end.

It didn't take long for him to reach the kitchen after he had a quick shower, where upon he once again started to prepare a meal for the current residents of the house.

Time passed by quickly enough as he prepared for his walking black hole to wake up and eat them out of house and home once again but despite that, he also felt a certain trepidation.

He hadn't summoned Pixie the previous day and he was certain she would not be happy with that… especially given his current circumstances.

In the end, she had proven herself more than capable of jealousy when it came to Parvati… and he had absolutely no romantic relation with that goddess so how would she react concerning a being that had literally bonded all of their love to him and him alone?

Naoki soon found himself blinking at that thought.

Parvati…

With a click of his fingers he called forth the Hindu Goddess of Love, Devotion, Fertility, Divine Strength and Power.

"What is it you need… Kashima-sama?" those were the first words to escape the Deity as she manifested on the mortal plane for the first time in about… ten years, give or take.

Looking towards her he was once again greeted by the sight of a beautiful woman with pink hair that was mostly hidden by a gold and white headdress with Pink Lotus Blossoms decorating the sides.

The rest of her attire was what he would describe as stereotypical Indian clothing with a gold and red colour scheme and no footwear.

"Hello Naoki-sama, for what purpose do you require me?" the beautiful goddess spoke with a serene smile adorning her face… then again, she pretty much only ever showed that smile… the only other expression he'd ever seen her make was one that he was certain was shared by sadists everywhere.

"Parvati, have you ever heard of a species called 'Sekirei'," he asked the goddess who gave him a blank look.

"Of course I've heard of Wagtails," she sounded almost insulted but he shook his head.

"I don't mean the birds, I mean a species of aliens that psychically bond with people as mates," he clarified for her.

Silence reigned for several seconds as she continued to stand there with her serene smile still intact before finally speaking.

"Ah… I forgot about them," he blinked at that response, "yes, I do know of them."

"I thought so… do you have anything to do with them?" he decided to ask for clarification, the species seemed far too close to her in nature for him to dismiss the idea outright.

"I may be responsible for the creation of their bond," she admitted and he looked at her expectantly, "… they were an experiment… it failed to achieve the results I was looking for so I left them."

Well, that explained why the species reminded him of the goddess so much.

"And because they were a failure, you forgot about them," he concluded.

"Indeed," the pink haired woman answered without hesitation.

"Well… that's all I needed," the Hitoshura said calmly, "you're dismissed."

"Farewell Naoki-sama," and with that the woman disappeared in another vortex of purple lightning.

He found himself frowning as he thought over what he had learned and wondered how many Sekirei knew that they were essentially nothing more than the descendants of a group of discarded lab rats.

With a quick shake of his head, he once again turned his full attention to preparing the first meal of the day.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki found himself slightly put out as he ate breakfast with Yashima and Yuko.

Mainly because he discovered that Yashima wasn't happy that he hadn't woken her up and given her a chance to make breakfast.

It actually made him decide that it would probably be better if he got her up with him instead of trying to let her sleep in late.

He didn't like the thought of forcing her to wake up when he was the one with job interviews to worry about, but it would probably be better than upsetting her by not waking her up.

"Well, I'd better be off," he said as he rose from his seat after finishing his meal, "I don't want to be late for my interview after all."

"I hope it goes well for you," Yuko proceeded to say in response as she finished her own breakfast in preparation for her journey to work.

"Thank you," he knew he didn't need anyone's wishes but it was nice to get such a thing off the woman that knew him better than any other.

"H-have a good day Naoki-kun," he almost had to blink upon hearing Yashima speak up but quickly let a smile grace his lips.

"Thank you Yashima-chan," the dark haired man responded before recalling something, "while I'm away, could you try and find something you'd like to do?"

"Y-yes, Naoki-kun!" she sounded surprised by that but he simply gave her a smile.

"Well, see you later," and with that, he proceeded to leave the house and make his way towards the local train station in order to make his way into the city properly.

"Oh? Hello again Kashima-san," the voice of Asama Miya called out as he passed the neighbour's house, "you seem to be leaving rather early."

The woman was once again sweeping the front door of her Open House and Naoki found himself remembering something from the previous night.

"Oh yeah," he spoke up, catching the woman's attention, "I heard a loud noise coming from your house last night… I'd appreciate it if you kept everything within reason."

The woman suddenly looked rather put out as she released a sigh.

"I apologize for any disturbance caused by my new tenants," she answered solemnly, "they somehow managed to forget to put on their parachutes when going skydiving."

He could do little more than stare blankly before sighing in response.

"I'm not even going to ask," which was true, he was pretty sure from the horrendously poor excuse that at least one of the new tenants was a Sekirei… or a witch, you never really knew what witches were going to do, especially if they had just recently started training.

"Well, I've got a train to catch," he finally decided to end the conversation before they really started talking and proceeded to make his way along the street.

"Oh? Then I shouldn't keep you any longer," and without anything said further, the woman proceeded to continue sweeping the front porch.

Now, he just had to make sure he made it for the interview.

XXX A DEVILS WINGS XXX

Asama Miya watched as her neighbour's visitor walked along the street.

When she had first seen him she had assumed he was just some high school child and hadn't really considered anything more than that.

Then she had witnessed the members of the Disciplinary Squad harassing the boy.

She had seen him easily dismiss them and had assumed he was ignorant about the power of the Sekirei and prepared to interfere.

She had been caught by surprise when the pink haired feather had lashed out at him and failed to react in time… honestly, she had expected a member of the Disciplinary Squad to have a little more… discipline.

The following scene however, was what had cemented in her mind that this boy wasn't normal.

The punch that had struck him was strong enough to leave an audible crack and he hadn't even flinched until the revelation that the Sekirei had managed to break her hand attacking him.

She had quickly chosen to interfere before the situation got any more serious but she was left wondering if even she would be capable of defeating this boy if they ever fought.

She would like to believe that she could but seeing him completely ignore the punch of a Sekirei proved he was far beyond human… or even a typical Sekirei.

The situation had left her concerned about him and she knew one person who was more than capable of finding what she wanted to know.

Sekirei Number Zero Two, Matsu.

What she had found was surprising to say the least.

Thirty-five years old.

No wonder he had simply dismissed her question about how old he was as 'old enough to make my own decisions'.

She would've thought the Kashima Naoki Matsu had discovered was wrong, except she had found an old school picture that showed he hadn't aged a day in the past twenty years.

And her neighbour was also in that picture, though clearly much younger than she was now.

But despite all of that, Matsu had failed to find a single detail that would explain how the boy had so much as survived the punch of a Sekirei, let alone been so completely unfazed by it that he actually apologized to his aggressor for breaking their hand.

Releasing a sigh, she continued to sweep the porch, she had no answers concerning this man and she also had to deal with a new set of residents in the form of the clearly impressionable young man named Sahashi Minato and Sekirei Number Eighty-Eight Musubi.

The idea that she was getting to tor- _chastise_ the young son of Minaka Hiroto was actually something she found great pleasure in even if the boy was clearly nothing like either of his parents.

In the end, he seemed like a good enough kid but she had always had a certain vindictiveness inherent in her nature and satiating it by picking on the son of a man she hated was not beyond her in any way, shape or form.

It would also be interesting to see if Musubi would be capable of surpassing her… from the little bit of training they'd done earlier she found it unlikely but there was a possibility she might.

Shaking her head clear of those thoughts, she continued to sweep the area… it did give her a reasonable excuse to eavesdrop on her neighbours after all.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki gave a bored glance around the café he was entering as he considered the job that had been advertised here.

It wasn't really anything special, just a simple kitchen job that would require assisting the chef and would probably include washing dishes as well.

Honestly it seemed like a nice enough little place in a relatively busy section of the city, so it was likely that it would get quite a bit of traffic throughout the day.

Clearing his head of those thoughts, he quickly made his way to one of the waitresses that was currently standing behind the counter.

"Excuse me," he spoke up, attracting the young woman's attention, "my name is Kashima Naoki, I'm here for an interview."

"Ah, Kashima-san," the woman spoke up with some nervousness clear in her tone, "the manager is currently interviewing another candidate… would it be possible for you to wait a little while?"

"That's fine, the interview wasn't supposed to be for another half an hour so I was expecting to have to wait," he admitted with an easy smile gracing his lips.

"Well, if you need anything just let me know," the woman still seemed nervous with short breaths and a faint blush starting to appear on her face…

He almost felt like palming his face as his mind immediately made a connection he wasn't sure he wanted it to make.

Looking at her name badge he proceeded to test the waters to see if his suspicion was right.

"So, Saki-san right?" he spoke out conversationally, earning a nod off the admittedly rather attractive woman, "do you have any interests?"

"A few," she admitted with a surprisingly beatific smile, "you?"

"Well, I've some interest in bird watching," he said with a shrug, "especially Wagtails."

He noted the way her breath hitched at that claim and he felt himself deflate at the clear sign that she understood what he was getting at.

This woman was a Sekirei.

It was definitely not surprising to him, what with how she had a shocking well-proportioned physique, long brown hair that seemed to naturally spike in random directions in such a way that it actually made her look even _more_ appealing… and then there was also her face that looked like it belonged on a Super Model.

"Oh, do you have any Wagtails at home?" she proceeded to speak up and he answered easily.

"I have one, have seen a few though," he admitted easily.

"Are you interested in getting another?" it was a simple question and given the way she seemed to be reacting to him, he was inclined to believe she was talking about herself.

"I don't know," it was a simple answer, "owning a Wagtail is a massive commitment after all."

"Well, if you ever decide you're interested in another… feel free to give me a call," Saki proceeded to say before giving him a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

"I'll be sure to do so," he admitted as he pulled out his wallet and put the piece of paper in it, "anyway, I guess I should make an order shouldn't it?"

And with that, he prepared himself for the wait leading up to the interview as he considered the idea of getting another alien lover that would be with him for eternity.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Sahashi Minato couldn't stop himself from releasing a sigh as he processed his current situation.

He had been kicked out of his apartment, had failed his University entrance exam for the second time in a row, had his allowance cut by his mother… honestly everything seemed like it was going against him.

Even the beautiful girl that had practically fallen on his lap was proving to be trouble given her complete inability to understand basic concepts such as modesty or common sense.

And then there was the fact that this girl was the main reason for the problems that had piled onto him on top of his failure to pass the University Entrance Exam.

At least he was now at an Open House and didn't have to worry about being evicted because of Musubi… again.

Still, at least things were starting to look up, what with how he and Musubi had finished packing his things for the move… it was honestly rather ridiculous that all the things they were taking were his yet she was the one carrying the excessively large sack.

Sure he was carrying a sports bag and a suitcase but it didn't change the fact that she was carrying far more than he was.

Walking along the street, he was grateful that there weren't that many people that could see them walking along like this, after all, not only would it be embarrassing for his masculinity (well, what was left of it anyway) but it might also cause some suspicion in anyone sharp enough to consider just how heavy Musubi's sack would be.

Passing by a train station, his attention was drawn by what was clearly a High School Student leaving and stepping onto the same street he was currently walking along.

What made this kid noteworthy though was the way he looked at them with a raised eyebrow before walking towards them.

"Good afternoon," the stranger said easily.

"Ah, hello!" Musubi seemed pretty enthusiastic about this stranger talking to them but he found himself growing nervous at the implications of this conversation.

"Am I right in thinking you're Asama-san's new tenants?" that question was both surprising but also something he decided was much easier to answer.

"Ah, yes, we're just moving in today," he answered with a certain amount of relief.

"I see," the boy seemed to think for a few seconds before returning his attention to them, "well, I won't keep you any more… but a few words of advice, humans can't carry that much so easily and I'd appreciate it if you didn't do anything too destructive."

Minato found his breath hitch at the casual way this boy made that claim… there was no way he didn't realise something was up but didn't seem to be interested in digging any further.

"Ah, but Musubi isn't human," he jerked his head towards the busty alien when she outright admitted that to this stranger.

"I know, but you really shouldn't be so careless about giving out such information," the teen answered easily, "it can lead to really big problems in the future."

"Y-you know?" he couldn't stop himself from swallowing nervously at that claim.

"Yeah… if my guess is right then you're an Ashikabi too right?" the boy said easily, causing him to gape in shock at the fact that apparently this boy was also a member of this Sekirei plan.

"Y-yeah…" he couldn't stop himself from blinking in surprise… especially knowing that there was a chance this boy might end up fighting him some day.

"Really?!" Musubi sounded excited now, "then that means there is an opponent to fight!"

"No," Minato didn't get a chance to speak before this stranger responded firmly and without hesitation, "I don't know what that idiot of a CEO is trying to do but I will have no part in it."

Minato couldn't stop himself from wondering, just why this boy was so firm about this situation.

"Uh… your Sekirei… what is she to you?" well, he at least assumed this stranger's Sekirei was female, but found himself wondering if he might be wrong.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you," the boy said calmly, "but to put it in layman's terms… important."

He honestly didn't like what this boy was implying, the idea that he wouldn't understand what this kid meant despite being in the same situation was actually rather insulting.

"Hey! I'm older than you," he called the younger boy out on that but earned little more than a wry grin off the stranger.

"Age is irrelevant," the teen said easily, "our situations are _very_ different."

Minato didn't really see why their situations were different but decided it would probably be best if he just dropped this situation.

"Ah, sorry… I forgot to introduce myself," he decided to try and change the subject, "Sahashi Minato, it is nice to meet you…"

He left an opening for the teen to introduce himself as he held out his hand for a handshake that was quickly accepted.

"Kashima Naoki," the teen answered easily, "likewise."

"So… uh, what school do you go to?" he decided to ask Kashima-san in hopes of getting a better idea of the person who clearly knew his new landlady.

"None, I graduated," the answer he received was enough to make him stall… he hadn't expected such an answer after all.

"Early graduation?" he decided to ask for confirmation only to receive a shake of denial.

"I'm older than I look," the boy answered easily, causing him to frown.

"Uh, then how old are you?" he decided to ask.

"Old enough," it was a rather evasive answer and he found himself once again frowning at the younger boy.

He was definitely not getting friendly vibes off this person.

Silence reigned as they continued their walk towards Izumo House, Minato found himself wondering if this teen lived in the neighbourhood or something given his current direction.

"Ah, Kashima-san," he decided to speak up, "where do you live?"

"Right now, directly next door to the place you're staying," well, that explained why he knew Asama-san.

"Oh, I guess that makes us neighbours," he stated the obvious and found himself reprimanding himself for making such an inane statement.

"I know," Kashima-san stated bluntly, "just try not to cause a ruckus like last night again… or do anything worse."

Minato found himself blushing at that claim as he considered just what this boy meant by 'worse'.

"I… I'll be careful," he simply said in hopes that the boy wouldn't go into any greater detail.

Besides, as long as no one found out then there wasn't a problem… right?

Eventually, he found himself outside his new residence as he tried to centre himself in preparation for the start of his new life.

"Well, I'll probably see you later Sahashi-san," Kashima spoke up as he continued onwards, "just keep my advice in mind when you're walking around with that girlfriend of yours."

He found himself blushing at the way the boy made that claim before shaking his head clear once again.

He guessed it wasn't really too far from the truth if what Musubi had told him was true.

And so he proceeded to finally make his way into the house as an official resident.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki had to admit, Sahashi Minato seemed pretty pathetic.

Not a bad kid but he clearly lacked the confidence to excel in anything… he hoped the kid could find his core and build up some confidence but he wouldn't put any money on it given the age the kid seemed to be.

He hoped the kid would take at least some of his advice and not get himself busted by MBI for carelessness but given how that 'Musubi' seemed to act he found the likelihood of that happening relatively slim.

It made him incredibly happy that Yashima seemed to have a level head on her shoulders and that that Saki girl seemed more than capable of being subtle and getting hints… he was pretty sure that that conversation would've been completely different if she had been even remotely like Musubi.

Making his way back to the house, he proceeded to open the door and walk inside.

"I'm home," he called out and was immediately greeted by the light brown haired Sekirei he had winged just a couple of days ago.

"Welcome home Naoki-kun," the shy Sekirei responded as she entered the hallway with a kitchen knife in her hand.

"Have you been trying to cook something yourself?" he asked her easily, earning an uncertain expression from the girl as she look away but nodded in confirmation anyway, "that's good."

Her posture seemed to relax at his response and he proceeded to lightly ruffle her hair affectionately.

"I'm looking forward to trying it," he said, causing her previously relieved expression to transform into one of eagerness as her eyes brightened even more.

"Yes Naoki-kun," she responded happily, "I'll just get back to it… I… I should be done soon."

And with that she proceeded to make her way back to the kitchen and he found a smile tugging at his lips.

It was good to see her gaining confidence so quickly and he was going to do everything he could to help nurture that confidence.

The real question was how the conversation about Saki would turn out.

He hoped learning about another Sekirei that he might potentially wing wouldn't damage her confidence but he hoped the way he was going to go about things wouldn't cause any problems.

Releasing a sigh, he moved towards the computer as he prepared himself to once again continue his search for work.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki had to admit, he was impressed at the meal Yashima had cooked for him, sure it wasn't the most complicated food out there, being little more than a curry, but he could tell that she had put her heart into it.

"Well… I can safely say that I'm impressed," he told her honestly, "coming home to a hearty homemade meal isn't something I was expecting."

The smile he received was small but definitely worthy of being considered radiant even if she wasn't looking directly at him… he was certain she was embarrassed given the blush that was colouring her cheeks.

"T-thank you Naoki-kun," she was definitely happy that much was clear and he continued to eat the meal she had obviously taken great care to make him.

"I'll be honest," he started to say, causing her to look at him with a certain level of trepidation, probably due to the way he started, "I wasn't expecting you to develop the confidence to try this yourself so quickly."

She started to look away in a clearly embarrassed manner.

"It makes me happy," he continued, earning another expression of surprise off the girl, "that your confidence is growing so quickly lets me know you feel comfortable around me."

The alien girl took a deep breath before looking him in the face and saying something that made him smile.

"T-that's because you're always being kind to me," she sounded convicted in her reason despite the clear embarrassment she felt at admitting this, "even when I mess up you never yell, you never get angry… you just let me know what I did wrong and tell how to do it right."

He found her explanation understandable but he needed to clarify something.

"Why would you think it would be any different?" he asked her.

"W-well… my adjustor had a pretty bad temper…" she responded while looking away.

He wasn't sure what she meant by adjustor but he assumed it had something to do with her time at MBI.

"Do you want me to find them for you?" he asked her easily.

"T-that's fine," she sounded almost worried, "they had a bad temper but they weren't a bad person."

He nodded his acceptance of her explanation, clearly she didn't hold a grudge or anything like that but he was going to have words with her adjustor if he ever knowingly met them.

He wouldn't hunt them down but he would give them a piece of his mind for making Yashima so nervous to begin with.

It didn't take long for him to finish his meal and he looked at the clock… it would still be about an hour before Yuko returned from work.

He supposed that meant they wouldn't be interrupted provided the conversation didn't become _very_ lengthy.

So he decided it was time to bite the bullet.

"Yashima-chan," he started, drawing the attention of the young Sekirei, "we need to talk."

He realised that that may not have been the best way to phrase it when she started to look worried so he decided to continue.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," he clarified for her, "it's just that I have a big decision to make that will affect the rest of _our_ lives… so I wanted you to have some input."

That statement seemed to calm her down somewhat as she opened her mouth to respond.

"And don't say that you're a Sekirei and that you'll do whatever I say," he cut her off, causing her to blush in embarrassment, "if anything, this affects you more than me so your feelings are what's important."

She looked down at that claim of his, clearly she was still having some trouble getting used to his refusal to accept her subservience.

"S-so what do you need to talk about?" Yashima spoke up and Naoki took a breath and decided to simply be blunt about it.

"I met another Sekirei today," he closed his eyes, "she seemed to be reacting to me."

"Really?! That's wonderful!" he opened his eyes in surprise at her clearly enthusiastic reaction to learning that she may very well have another Sekirei trying to bond with him.

"Y-you seem happy?" he half asked as he tried to process why she'd be acting this way.

"Of course," she nodded in agreement, "we Sekirei are beings of love… to know that there is at least one more Sekirei who will be winged by someone as kind as you is relieving."

"Relieving?" that particular word caught his attention.

"Yes… I… I'm worried that some of my kind might find cruel Ashikabi…" she admitted and he suddenly started to understand why she was so happy.

"You love your species don't you?" he asked for confirmation and she nodded in response.

It wasn't something he'd expected… he'd expected hesitance, uncertainty or perhaps a reluctant acceptance or outright refusal... but he'd clearly underestimated the young woman before him.

"All right then," he spoke up and Yashima seemed to suddenly realise just how overt she'd been just then and blushed and looked away, "then it's decided."

"W-what's decided?" she asked him curiously.

"The whole point of this conversation was to determine whether I would wing her or not," he told her easily, "I didn't want to wing her if you weren't happy with it."

The look of surprise on her face quickly gave way to a small smile.

"Thank you Naoki-kun," she sounded honestly happy with the knowledge that he'd just given her, "but to know that my sisters are happy is something I can't feel unhappy about."

He nodded in acceptance before rising from his seat and pulling out his wallet to get at the phone number he'd been given by the Sekirei that worked at that Café.

He immediately prepared his phone and put in the number before calling.

The line rang several times before it was answered.

" _Hello, this is Saki, who is this?"_ her voice called out over the phone.

"Hello Saki-san, this is Kashima Naoki," he said in response.

" _Ah, Kashima-san… have you made up your mind about me?"_ she sounded nervous and he gave a brief smile as he made his response.

"Yes, my first Sekirei is very much in favour of winging you," he admitted easily.

" _Why does that matter?"_ she sounded almost confused at his claim.

"Well, it was up to her if I winged you or not," he admitted easily, "after all, I didn't want to hurt her by winging you without asking her first."

Silence seemed to fall over the line at that claim.

"Hey, Saki? Are you still there?" he asked with some concern.

" _Ah, yes, sorry… I was just surprised that there was an Ashikabi that cared to ask their first Sekirei about winging more,"_ she definitely sounded surprised but quickly continued, _"so, where should we meet?"_

Naoki didn't think as he clicked his fingers and summoned Pixie.

"Pixie, can you go and pick up the girl on the other end of this line," he asked her easily before stalling.

Oh shit.

He'd just unleashed Pixie on the world after sleeping in the same bed as Yashima and then not summoning her for nearly two full days.

"Yes… Na-o-ki-sa-ma," the little fairy responded with clear anger in her tone as she used the honorific Sama… which with her was already a sign she was pissed… but also spoke each syllable clearly.

He was dead.

" _Uh, Kashima-san what is ah! What the?!"_ the voice on the other end asked in confusion before shock seemed to permeate it.

"Hell!" almost immediately her voice was next to him and he found himself turning to see a clearly shocked Saki on the ground and Pixie wearing a 'I am going to murder you in the most brutal way I know of and then resurrect you just so I can do it again' smile… and given just how creative she could be with death… it wasn't a good sign.

"Uh… th-thank you Pixie-chan…" he knew that trying to butter her up right now was an exercise in futility but he'd rather try it than deal with her in this state.

"Na-o-ki-sa-ma… why have you not summoned me for _two bloody days_?!" she asked him while simultaneously letting lightning crackle around her hand… it made him regret not re-equipping Masakados before doing this.

"Because I was afraid you'd do this," he stated bluntly, earning a twitch of the little red-head's eye.

"And what made you think I'd do this before?" she asked him with a dangerously calm tone.

"Well… the fact that Yashima snuck into my bed," he admitted knowing this was going to get him blown up at least somewhat.

"… grhh!" she was definitely angry, "Naoki-sama! I have accepted that!"

He had to blink before staring dumbly at her.

"I have accepted that that girl will sleep with you! I don't _like_ it, but I have accepted it!" she sounded frustrated as she made that claim, "just like how right now, I accept that you're going to get another… just… just don't forget about me."

He could do little more than look at the little lady that had helped him out when he was still a fresh demon and noticed that her fury had given way to something that made him feel significantly worse.

Tears.

It was something he had never seen from the normally rather playful demon and it hit him that it was _his fault_.

"I'm sorry, I didn't forget about you, I was just scared you'd be a little too angry to control yourself," he said to her as he reached out a hand and cupped the little demon in his hand and proceeded to lightly hug her against his chest.

"Wh-wha-what is going on?" Saki spoke up as she finally seemed to process everything.

"Saki, let me introduce you to Pixie," he said nodding down towards the little demon that was currently in his hand, "she's one of my oldest friends."

The alien that was unfamiliar with the fairy could only point and stare in disbelief.

"B-but fairies aren't real!" she exclaimed, clearly she was far more normally raised than Yashima had been.

"What, you think only aliens are real?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow, "the truth is that you'll find that pretty much all mythology has at least some grain of truth to it… usually the deities at least."

She seemed to swallow nervously at that claim.

"W-why are you so calm?" she asked him in clear disbelief.

"Well… let's just say that most aren't a threat to me," he said easily, "so… do you still want to be winged by me?"

She seemed to blink a few times before swallowing clearly nervous at the current situation.

"Y-yes," she eventually responded.

"All right then," and with that he knelt down to where she was currently still lying before taking her jaw in his hand and preparing to give her the kiss that would seal her fate to his, "this is going to hurt."

"What?" before she could finish her sentence their lips met and he felt his power being drawn into her just like Yashima.

The scream of pain was also something he had already prepared himself for along with the black wings of demonic power and the tattoo like veins of power that spread across her body.

Looking at Yashima he noted the way she looked distressed over the pain her 'sister' was in and he just spoke out to her.

"The same thing happened to you," it was true and he knew that Saki would recover just as well as Yashima had.

"W-what about the neighbours?" the light brown haired Sekirei asked nervously.

"I already set up a barrier to prevent any noise from escaping," the tired call from the blue clad fair came from within his hand.

"Thank you Pixie," he said in response to that statement by the winged demon as the winging ritual started to calm down.

"You were expecting it," she answered him easily as she started to rise away from his hand, "and I'd be a pretty bad minion if I didn't do what I was supposed to."

"You're not a minion," he told her with a smile, "despite me being a bit of an insensitive asshole at times, you are my friend."

"Well… you're going to have to explain to the teacher why there is another alien in her house," the redhead pointed out and he found himself releasing a sigh at the thought of how much money he'd have to spend to feed _another_ Sekirei.

"I'm going to go bankrupt before the year is out aren't I?" he muttered rhetorically as he proceeded to move the unconscious alien to a more comfortable location.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Higa Izumi could do little more than think as he looked at the object before him.

It was his mobile phone.

What was wrong though was the program that had been installed on it by that Yuriko woman.

He didn't trust her but unfortunately he had been unable to dig up any information on her at all… not even Kakizaki's Sekirei, number twenty-two, Kochō, had been capable of digging up even a single scrap of information on the woman that had waltzed into his office like it was nothing.

So he continued to look at the program on his phone, uncertain of whether he could open it or not… she claimed that she was against Minaka and the people backing him but he didn't know that and given that he couldn't find anything on her, he just _knew_ she needed to have had a Sekirei remove all traces of her existence.

Clenching his fist, he slammed it down before giving into the temptation despite his better judgement, pressing the icon currently located on his phone as the application was opened to him.

Immediately he was forced to cover his eyes as his screen glowed impossibly bright before his brain was frozen by what he heard next.

"Oh… so you're my new master," the voice was feminine and clearly young, "hn, how adorable."

Opening his eyes, he faced the owner of the voice and found his eyes widening in shock at what he saw.

Now he knew without a doubt that he was in over his head.

"So… when do we start _master_."

* * *

And that's all for now.

Shadow out.


	5. Chapter 5

And I'm back.

Now, first things first, one particular reviewer mentioned that the Hitoshura is the strongest of the SMT protagonists and I am just going to make this perfectly clear... I don't believe that. That's not to say he isn't powerful, it's just that I feel most SMT protags are probably around about the same level of power (with the exception of some of the MC's from side games).

That is how I feel at least.

Anyway, now that that is over, let's get on with the show.

* * *

Kakizaki could do little more than stare at the sight before him as he tried to comprehend what was happening.

His old friend, Higa Izumi, was sitting in his chair wearing a thoughtful expression on his face with his hands clasped before his face.

Any normal person would look at him and see someone thinking diligently and scheming away… but Kakizaki knew otherwise.

Izumi wasn't the sort of person to sit around like this if he was scheming, if he was scheming then he'd be flowing from screen to screen, looking at all the information allayed before him while determining the best way to use each piece to complete the puzzle before him.

For him to sit like this… it was something he hadn't seen for a _long_ time and it meant only one thing.

His old friend was panicking.

It was horrifying to see but at least he knew exactly what was causing this reaction… honestly he had found himself panicking upon his first sight of what was currently sitting on a sofa at the side of the room and pressing every button it could find.

 _It_ looked like a young girl, probably in their early to mid-teens, with a soft tan to its skin, long black hair that flowed past its shoulders and dull crimson eyes while its form was covered by a cream leotard that hid nothing of its limbs.

The only reason he was certain this _creature_ wasn't human was simple.

It had a pair of large, leathery wings erupting from its back, a long whip like tail with an arrow like tip, pointed ears and a rather prominent set of fangs.

And despite playing with all the buttons in the room, the creature looked incredibly bored.

Still, at least it was better than what it had tried to do when he had first entered the room… honestly, he never thought he'd have to deal with such a young looking creature trying to seduce him in front of his old friend.

"Higa-sama," he said quietly as he kept his eyes on the creature as it moved its attention towards a remote control and started to play with that, "are you sure it is a good idea to keep that _creature_ out here?"

"It took my phone," his old friend responded without any inflection in his tone, "the summoning application is contained on it."

Ah, so that explained why the creature was still out despite being such a massive danger to everyone in the building.

"Are you certain we should trust this creature?" he decided to continue while keeping his voice low enough that he wouldn't be heard by the little devil, "should I call the Sekirei to deal with it?"

"These ears aren't just for show you know Kaki-chan!" the little creature called out as it faced him with a predatory smile gracing its lips, "besides, you should just be grateful I decided to listen to Izumi-chan about not raping you."

He felt his blood run cold at that claim… to be so close to a creature that could so casually claim it had intended on raping him was not something he was comfortable with.

At least Kochō was respectful of his boundaries and treated him as any loyal servant should… certainly he didn't fully trust her but he wasn't as averse to the Sekirei as Izumi was and did find her presence comforting to some degree.

But this beast had no such qualms, it made no pretence of affection and was explicit in its only concern being satiating its own appetite by using any man available.

Of course, the part that disturbed him the most about that was the creature's apparent age and how it was just too damn young to be so perverse and cruel.

Certainly he knew it most likely _wasn't_ as young as it looked but it was impossible to not see a little girl when looking at the devil even with the extra appendages being perfectly visible.

"Besides," the terror continued as it gave the remote a cursory glance, "those girls of yours couldn't do anything to me even if they tried."

And with that statement, she proceeded to start lightly gnawing on the remote.

He would tell her to stop but given the fear and uncertainty that was filling his being, he simply couldn't bring himself to go through with the action.

"You seem rather confident in your ability to stand against my Sekirei," Izumi spoke up and he found himself listening intently as the creature broke the remote between its teeth.

"Of course," the creature said with an easy shrug as it picked up one of the batteries that had fallen from the now broken remote, "they exist in a single universe, sure there may be different instances of the same existence but they're still restricted to the one universe and have to obey that world's laws."

And with that said, the creature proceeded to put the battery in its mouth before it started to knead the metal cylinder between its teeth.

"And what of you?" his old friend continued his questioning as the noise of bending metal and liquid started to come from the little demon's mouth.

"I am a multiversal constant," she responded as she removed the metal casing of the battery from her jaw and proceeded to swallow the acid that had been squeezed out of the object, "I don't obey the laws of any universe… what is this anyway?"

"A battery," Kakizaki stated bluntly as he looked at the mangled power supply.

"Well, the juice tastes pretty good," the little pointed ear cretin said with a grin before it fell from her face, "shame about the case though, that tasted pretty bad."

Kakizaki could do little more than feel his stomach turn at the sight of the creature so easily consuming something that could very likely kill a human.

And judging by the way Izumi was also staring at it, it was clear that he was also feeling uncomfortable with this creature.

"Higa-sama," he spoke respectfully as he made a decision, "I am going to call on the Sekirei."

"No," he knew his old time friend didn't trust the Sekirei at all but in this scenario, he felt that _not_ letting them in on this issue would be worse than Minaka finding out about it.

"Well, I'm bored anyway," the little creature said with a pout as it pulled out another chewed up battery that it had clearly taken while he had been distracted by his old time friend, "when can we go and _do_ something?"

And yet again he was reminded of this creature's apparent lack of age as it started to whine like a petulant child about having to sit around and do nothing… something it had already proven to be exceptionally talented at _not_ being capable of.

"When I've determined the best strategy open to me," Izumi spoke up before frowning, " _and_ when you've gone back into my phone… I am not letting my Sekirei see you."

"Ah, you're no fun Izumi-chan," it spoke up again before letting that hungry grin adorn its face once again, "you should learn to lighten up a little… I'm _more_ than willing to teach you."

Kakizaki felt himself growing sick at the tone the creature took and how he just knew it meant partaking in activities that could wind up with his old friend in jail for illicit conduct with an underage girl.

"No, just return my phone to me and _then_ we'll consider our next move," he had to hand it to his old friend, to be capable of saying such a thing to such a creature without cracking under the pressure was certainly impressive even if potentially ill advised.

Silence reigned for several seconds as the little girl glared at the young C.E.O before finally scoffing in displeasure.

"Fine, have your stupid phone back," and with that the girl threw the delicate piece of equipment at his old friend, who thankfully managed to catch it without any difficulty, "just make sure you call me when things get interesting."

And with a few presses of the Cell Phone, the creature vanished in a bright light that seemed to get drawn into the phone.

"I swear, I should've never touched that application," that was a point he was most certainly not going to disagree with his long-time friend on.

And now that the horror with wings was gone, he could see Izumi slowly relaxing as the tension fled his body before he started to move in a familiar manner… from one screen to the next, going over information on one screen and comparing it to information on another as he started to scheme again.

Hopefully, things wold work out for them.

He just prayed his old time friend hadn't just damned himself to hell for this.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki could do little more than watch as Saki slept off the winging.

Honestly there was nothing unusual about that as far as being winged to _him_ was concerned, what with how they inadvertently drew on his demonic essence and become some sort of miniature Hitoshura themselves when it was performed.

Of course this time, things were different.

This time he already knew what to expect, already knew the winging wasn't life threatening and already knew exactly what the winging meant in the long term.

Honestly it was the meaning of the winging in the long term that made him so open to the idea of winging new Sekirei… after all, if they became new variants of Hitoshura then they'd be capable of staying with him forever, long after the universe had finally met its heat death.

"How long do you think she'll be?" Yashima spoke up with a hint of concern in her tone, clearly she trusted his judgement on this matter but wasn't entirely comfortable with not knowing for certain herself.

"She'll probably be a few more hours," he admitted with a soft smile, "she's assimilated my demonic essence… that's not an easy process."

The nod he earned from his first Sekirei was enough to let him know that she was going to accept what he said, though her expression didn't relax despite that.

He pointedly chose to ignore the other individual in the room that was mildly glaring at Yashima as she tried to make herself as small as she could before the Tiny Fairy.

He would probably find it humorous if it wasn't for knowing that the smaller of the two could effortlessly annihilate the brown haired girl just by pointing at her.

Silence reigned for quite some time as Yashima found herself either without anything to say or without the courage to draw even more of Pixie's attention than she already had, while Naoki didn't really know what to say to his first Sekirei.

Thankfully, the silence was eventually destroyed via the door opening and a familiar call resounding through the room.

"I'm home," Naoki was thankful that Yuko had finally returned and hoped that she could help remove the uncomfortable silence that had befallen the room.

"Welcome back," he called out with some relief, "I've got something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" and with that, his old teacher entered the room and immediately saw the passed out Saki currently lying on the bed before offering him a knowing smile, "let me guess… another Sekirei?"

"Yeah," he admitted without hesitation, "she worked at one of the places I got an interview."

"I assume you spoke with Yashima-chan before 'winging' her," he found himself smiling as he remembered that despite how easily she was adjusting to the situation, he hadn't actually given her a proper explanation of what was going on yet.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to fill you in didn't I?" he admitted, earning an amused smile off the older woman, "sorry about that."

"That's quite alright," she responded easily, "these past few days likely haven't been easy for you."

That much was true.

Despite his nature as one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, he was still incredibly young by demon standards… and that wasn't even including the fact that despite getting involved in some crazy stuff throughout his life, most of his time was spent in pretty mundane situations… like job hunting.

So he'd never truly gotten the opportunity to process random supernatural situations as 'just another Tuesday' regardless of being exposed to things like the Conception.

"Well… Yashima-chan," he spoke up, "are you feeling up to giving an in depth explanation of what's going on with this 'Sekirei plan'?"

Her eyes widened as the realisation that she'd never really explained anything to them hit her.

Not that it was her fault, she'd been knocked unconscious by the winging at the point when she'd probably have normally explained just what was going on.

"Y-yes, of course Naoki-kun," and with that, the young girl started to explain everything she knew.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Number Zero Two, also known as Matsu, frowned once more as she went over the information she had dug up on Kashima Naoki.

None of it made sense.

How could he be in a photo from twenty years ago and still look exactly the same?

And on top of that, Miya had even told her about the encounter with the Disciplinary Squad and how he had outright _ignored_ a punch from a Sekirei… more specifically, number One Oh Five… who was specifically engineered to be exceptionally powerful due to MBI already selecting her as one of the members of the Disciplinary Squad during her adjustments.

Because of that it was unlikely that even Miya herself could shrug off a direct hit from her like it was nothing… of course, landing the hit in the first place would be near impossible for the younger Sekirei but it didn't change the fact that her raw power was nothing to be sneezed at.

And so Matsu had worked tirelessly to try and figure out just how the man could possibly be so powerful and in the end, she had come up with absolutely nothing that could explain that apparent invulnerability.

Honestly, the only theory she could come up with is that he was basically their realities equivalent of Superman, born on another planet, sent to Earth and adopted by a regular family who hid his extra-terrestrial origins from the world.

But regardless of the veracity of her half-assed theory, Kashima Naoki had proven that the Sekirei were woefully unaware of the world and everything that waited for them.

And so she had started to dig into everything she could.

The results were not pretty.

The Ring Of Gaia and the Order Of Messiah.

Those were two names that she'd managed to find in her attempts at discovering if there was anything else she had missed.

The Ring Of Gaia sounded horrific from what she had managed to dig up on them, what with how they were supposedly responsible for several strings of brutal murders… but outside of that there wasn't really much that was known about the group… and being unable to dig up more made Matsu nervous.

Then there was the fact that some of these murders that were attributed to The Ring Of Gaia were unexplained… performed in ways that didn't make sense, or suffering wounds that couldn't be identified… in the end, it was one bad rumour after another.

Then there was the Order Of Messiah. On the outside it seemed like any other monotheistic religion, pious, righteous and full of people that put the good of the community on a pedestal… but then there were the rumours of abduction, the claims that the members have been brainwashed by the cult and that their headquarters has a secret basement where they perform inhumane experiments.

Of course none of this was backed up by evidence that couldn't be dismissed as heresy… but seeing so many different people making those claims made her uneasy.

Then of course, there was the fact that _both_ of these organisations had branches in Shinto Teito.

She would've thought those two were enough but there was yet another group that kept popping up when dealing with unusual cases such as the murders committed by the Ring Of Gaia… the group that called itself Kuzunoha.

The Kuzunoha apparently had an office in the city but once again, she found the amount of information she could gleam on the group to be small, vague and disturbing to some degree.

What with how they were known to take people from their families, solve impossible mysteries without explaining how they did so… and even go as far as to outright _destroy_ influential organisations and kill both business and political leaders with no apparent rhyme or reason.

And they always got away with it.

That was the part that really terrified her. This group had managed to keep the Government out of their business despite directly damaging the political structure of the world on multiple occasions.

And that was what truly terrified her… the Kuzunoha had their claws into many things both nationally _and_ internationally… and no one had stopped them yet.

So right now, she had a list of at least three organisations that were at least a credible threat to MBI and possibly even the Sekirei themselves… and she didn't even know if she'd missed any others.

And that wasn't even considering the fact that Kashima was an unknown quantity that _was_ involved in the Sekirei Plan already, what with how he had winged number Eighty-Four, Yashima.

In the end, everything she had learned had given her a headache and a new level of fear for what her 'siblings' could potentially put their foot in.

Gritting her teeth, she thought of what she could do with this information.

She could give it to Miya but she doubted the woman would do anything with it, quite possibly she'd just sit on it and act like nothing was happening.

Outside of that, the only other two options she could think of were to keep the information to herself and hope nothing came of these potential complications, or dare she even think it… hand the info over to Minaka.

Despite his childish demeanour, despite the cruelty of the Sekirei Plan… he had already proven himself to be very protective of the Sekirei… and given that Miya herself had confirmed that if the Sekirei that took over Kouten wanted, they could undo the damage caused by the plan.

So really, the only cruel parts of the plan were the formation of the bonds only for them to be destroyed… and allowing bloodthirsty psychopaths like Karasuba the opportunity to participate.

She found herself clenching her fist in frustration at the situation. She wanted nothing more than to give the information to someone that could use it to protect the Sekirei but the only person that _would_ was someone she didn't _want_ to give the information to for personal reasons.

In the end though, her loyalty to her species was greater than her desire to remain hidden from MBI… and so she forced herself to set up a video call with the white haired maniac.

"Well well, I must say that I am surprised to see you calling me Number Zero Two," the man spoke up immediately upon seeing her and she found her frustration growing, "surprised… but _very_ happy."

She felt her body go rigid at that claim… the fact that he was _happy_ to see her didn't bode well at all.

"What do you want Minaka?" she almost growled out, she knew she should really give the man the data she had dug up but he was rubbing her the wrong way right now, especially given her current frustration.

What with how she had dug up information that was frustratingly vague but could be interpreted as dangerous… and to make matters even more annoying, the new kid at Izumo was causing her to react.

"Tell me, what if I told you that Conway-chan isn't scared of Karasuba?" his statement made her blink but upon remembering the secretary, she understood exactly where he was coming from.

"You mean about how the 'fear' she displays towards her never reaches her eyes?" it was something that had always set her on edge about the woman, the fact that she seemed to fake being scared of the Black Sekirei but if you looked closely enough, her eyes never lost the cold, calculating edge they always had.

"Exactly, I knew you would understand," the white haired lunatic said happily, "but what if I told you that a few days ago I saw fear in those eyes?"

Her mind started to race at that claim, the idea that someone that never really considered Karasuba a threat being scared of something was terrifying… but what could have elicited such a reaction from the fearless... her mind started to drift onto something that happened a couple of days ago.

"Kashima Naoki," she practically whispered as she remembered that a couple of days ago would be when Kashima winged his Sekirei.

"It seems you already have an idea of what is going on," Minaka said with a knowing grin, "but that just makes things easier… I want to ask you if you can try and find any trace of tampering with Conway-chan's records… are you willing to do that for me?"

She paused as she thought about the situation.

Clearly Minaka believed Gabby Conway knew more than she was willing to tell anyone but he either didn't have the time or the skill to see if there had been any alterations made to her information.

"What do I get out of this?" she asked with narrowed eyes… sure she would probably help him anyway, what with how everything seemed to be growing more complex and dangerous recently… but that didn't mean she couldn't try and milk it for as much as possible.

"A free pass for you and a friend to be exempt from the Sekirei Plan," the director stated easily and she found herself swallowing in anticipation at that prospect… however…

"I want a pardon," she demanded, "I want to be able to walk outside without having to worry about being caught by the Disciplinary Squad."

It was the one thing she truly wanted above everything else… the ability to walk freely outside the open house.

"I am afraid I can't do that yet," she found herself gritting her teeth at his immediate answer.

"And why is that?" she demanded only for him to release a breath.

"Because that would give the game up to Conway-chan," his answer was short and simple… and Matsu found herself calming down at that reasoning.

After all, from what she could gather from her interactions with him right now, he _knew_ things had gotten more complicated and was working towards figuring out just what was going on.

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed… no matter how much she wanted to be able to walk in the open without fear of retaliation, she understood that this was bigger than herself.

"Now that that is out of the way…" Minaka started with an infuriating grin, "for what reason did you decide you wanted to contact me? It must be pretty serious given your dislike of me."

Saying she disliked him was putting it mildly but she chose to try and ignore the irritation that was welling up inside her.

"I've done some digging and found some information that I think you could use," she stated seriously, "I considered giving it to Miya-chan but… well, I don't think she'd actually _use_ the information and given the implications raised by it…"

"You want someone that will act on it," Minaka easily continued for her with a thoughtful expression on his face, "very well, if you provide me with this information then I will do what I can to act upon it."

She felt a certain sense of relief flooding her system at that, the fact that he was taking her seriously despite his general demeanour meant that he at least understood that things were likely worse than they appeared on the surface.

"Should I send it to your personal computer?" she found herself asking for confirmation as to where to send the information, after all, for all she knew it could potentially alert Gabby to the fact that Minaka didn't trust her anymore.

"While I'm not completely sure even that is safe," the man answered her easily, "at least it's safer than the computers here."

She nodded in confirmation as she prepared the information for delivery.

"Now, I'm sorry Zero Two," she felt her hackles rise at that little habit of his, that habit of always referring to a Sekirei by its number instead of their name, "but Conway-chan will likely be back soon, so I will have to cut our conversation here."

"Of course," she released a sigh of understanding at the fact he wanted to keep his contact with her as secret from Gabby as possible before she cut the connection.

She had things she needed to do.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Naoki honestly didn't know what to think right now.

It seemed that Yashima didn't really know that much more than they had managed to piece together courtesy of the situation and that idiots phone call.

Honestly he wondered if that was all there really was to it.

A group of super-powered aliens fighting for a chance at some poorly defined prize.

"Urgh…" a groggy moan caught his ears as his attention was drawn towards the new member of the household, the Sekirei that called herself Saki.

"Hello again Saki," he spoke out as he turned his attention towards where she was groggily rising from her unconscious position, "are you feeling all right?"

"I feel like I've just been hit by a truck," she groaned out in clear annoyance, "what happened?"

"I winged you," he answered bluntly, causing her to frown in confusion.

"That shouldn't cause this," she spoke up as she aligned herself in a seated position, "getting winged is supposed to be a really nice process."

"That's because you were winged by _me_ ," he admitted easily, "it's never easy to lose your mortality."

"I guess," she admitted before stalling a couple of seconds later and looking at him with wide eyes, "wait, what did you say?"

"It's never easy to lose your mortality," he repeated with a soft smile before continuing, "welcome to the ranks of demons."

Silence reigned for several more seconds before his newest Sekirei proceeded to give a humourless chuckle.

"Kashima-sama, that isn't funny," she spoke up and he found himself frowning.

"Naoki is fine," he let her know before continuing, "and I'm not joking, I am a demon and the winging took some of my demonic essence and made you one of my kind."

"N-no," she shook her head in clear denial of what he was saying, "demons don't exist, anyone with half a brain could tell you that."

Naoki just looked at her blankly before raising his hand and snapping his fingers in response.

The purple lightning that engulfed the area was enough to make the beautiful woman cover her eyes in response.

" **What is it you required Hitoshura-sama,"** the voice that called out was deep and reverberated through the house as Arahabaki was called forth.

"Just need to make a point," he stated bluntly as he watched Saki turn her attention to the demon that took a form similar to those old clay dolls from the Jōmon period.

The way her eyes stared at his summon like she couldn't believe what she was seeing was rather amusing, especially when her mouth started to open and she pointed at the currently levitating demon.

"Oh? Does Saki-san need more convincing than Yashima-chan?" he let out a smile upon hearing Yuko call out from the doorframe.

"Yeah," he admitted before looking towards the only human in the house and realising that Yashima was hiding behind her while glancing nervously between him and the demon he had summoned.

"N-Naoki-kun?" Yashima certainly sounded uncertain as she spoke up, "w-w-what is that?"

"Oh, this is just Arahabaki," he responded easily, "he's an old Shinto God."

The way the lighter haired Sekirei stared at him made him blink in confusion.

"What?" he wanted to know why she was staring at him like that.

"You… you're acting like it's no big deal," she seemed almost too dazed to feel nervous but he found himself frowning as he tried to understand what the issue was.

"Don't worry about it," Yuko spoke up with an amused smile, "Naoki-kun has been dealing with such things for a long time… he seems to have forgotten just what the term god usually inspires in mortals."

He found himself blinking at that before clicking his fingers once more and dismissing the figurine like demon from the house.

Returning his attention to Saki, he found himself smiling at the way she was still focused on the space where his summon had previous occupied before finally seeming to process that it was gone and moving her focus back to him.

"W-w-what have I just gotten myself into?" she sounded very uncertain and so, he found himself smiling.

"Eternity."

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Gabby Conway could do little more than watch as Minaka Hiroto kept his attention on the Sekirei Plan.

That was good, he seemed to have lost some interest in Kashima Naoki and she was more than happy to encourage that lack of attention on the Hitoshura.

After all, if the Hitoshura got directly involved then all these years of planning and manipulations would go to waste… even their usurpation of Kouten would be rendered pointless if the Hitoshura decided to get involved.

She had to resist the urge to rub her shoulders, she still suffered from the phantom pains of having her wings torn from her body the last time she had encountered that monster in the form of a boy.

The fact that he had decimated her, Raphael and Uriel in the same battle had solidified her fear of him and the power he wielded… especially now that she knew he had only grown _more_ powerful since then.

It was truly frustrating that he had restored this universe, this cruel, decaying and corrupt world that would be better off being destroyed to make room for a world where such problems didn't exist… where the free will that Lucifer had so mistakenly thrust upon humanity wouldn't be a problem.

The fact that he had managed to force the Great Will to bend to his desire and recreate this universe just as it was before the conception was another mark that made her worry… to be capable of forcing the Great Will to do anything was beyond anything she could imagine.

Not even Lucifer himself could do such a thing.

The mere idea that the boy could potentially get involved due to his Sekirei was quite the worry, at least Minaka wouldn't focus on him too much if he only had one winged to him.

If he started to wing more, then issues would be raised and she may have to appeal to Michael once again to try and resolve the issue… sure it would certainly result in their plans being discovered and massive levels of damage but it was better than losing all the progress they had made in the past twenty years.

Besides, humans were gullible and given the image they had managed to cultivate with humanity as a whole, the chances of the humans denying what they said was slim.

She needed to make sure Kashima Naoki remained as blissfully unaware of the true nature of the Sekirei plan as possible… because as soon as he realised just what they were trying to do… she just knew that they would have their hands full trying to stop him from destroying them and their plan.

"Tell me Conway-chan," Minaka spoke up much to her interest, "why do you think Kashima-kun seemed so confident about facing Sekirei?"

Oh crap.

He was talking about that man again.

"I don't know Minaka-sama," she answered with her smile plastered on her face while she felt nothing but terror spread through her body at the mere idea of Minaka not dropping this and getting the Demon involved.

The pain in her shoulders only grew at her frustration.

Despite being manifested on this plane of existence, she had been restored to this form too early and she knew that her power was no match for even the weakest of Kashima's minions in her current state.

But they needed someone to infiltrate MBI and she was the single best at filling the role they were looking for… on top of that, there was supposed to be no combat so her power being minimal wasn't an issue.

"Do you want to know what I think?" her 'boss' spoke up and she continued to play the role she had been working in for so long.

"What do you think Minaka-sama?" she asked hoping to get some insight into the mind of the man before her.

"I think he might have been some sort of secret government project to create a Supersoldier," she felt herself relax slightly at that claim, "now… the question is how to capture him."

Her panic rose once again as the white haired moron made such a blatantly stupid idea sound even worse because of his intention of drawing the monster's attention towards them.

"Would that really be a good idea Minaka-sama?" she chose to try and hint to him that such a rash course of action wouldn't be a good idea without outright saying it.

"Of course it would!" the idiot spoke up once more, "just imagine it! The Sekirei Plan, overseen by our very own private army of Super Soldiers!"

Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit!

Why was he suddenly getting this idea and how could she dissuade him from it?

"But are you certain we'd be capable of capturing him?" she decided to ask the simple question and Minaka stalled while looking at her with a raised eyebrow, "he seemed to show no concern for the existence of the Sekirei or the fact that you were the owner of the most powerful technology company in the world."

That seemed to make him reconsider his course of action and after several seconds of thinking, he released a sigh of acceptance.

"I suppose that is true," he seemed to deflate at that and she felt relief flood her body at preventing him from doing something so outright stupid as to pick a fight with one of the most powerful beings in all of existence, "though, keeping a close eye on him could yield some interesting results."

Why? Why wouldn't this idiot be dissuaded from keeping attention on the Hitoshura? Why? Why was he being so obstinate?

Was it his apparent age compared to his real age? Was it the way he easily threatened to destroy him and MBI? Was it something else she didn't pick up on?

It was all so frustrating!

Despite her inner turmoil though, she refused to let any of it show in her body language, everything remained as well disciplined as ever as she continued to watch the hyperactive brat make his next move… hopefully he'd grow bored of Kashima soon… otherwise she might suffer a rather novel death for her... she had never died of a heart attack before after all.

* * *

And that is that.

Shadow out.


	6. Chapter 6

Well... it seems like this is once again the next chapter that I'm going to post.

Anyway, I don't have much to say right now however I do have a couple of things to answer:

For everyone telling me I don't have to force myself to write for strangers, I'm not... that's why my updates are so infrequent and this is the only fic I've really updated recently... I'm just letting everyone know the reason for such a lack of updates.

And in response to Have a Little Feith's point about the Hitoshura destroying all universes in the True Demon Ending, I personally feel that that achievement is overplayed. From how I interpreted it, he destroyed all the universes by destroying the existence that stopped them from collapsing, a bit like how a demolition crew don't destroy an entire building but instead destroy the areas that support the rest of the structure. It takes a lot less destructive power to do the second method, it just requires that you know what you're doing.

And as for the rest of the SMT protags, we haven't really seen them in the same type of situation so we don't know if they'd be capable of the same feat or not... that is why I feel that most are about the same level and refrain from saying one is stronger than the rest.

Anyway, that's all for now so let's get on with the chappy.

* * *

Naoki couldn't stop the smile that graced his face as he watched Saki sit and stare into space for several minutes after he had finished his story.

Yashima seemed to take it better and instead of just looking overwhelmed, seemed sad at the knowledge he had been forced to brutalise his two best friends with his bare hands in order to restore the world to how it had been before the conception.

"A-Ashikabi-sama," the newest Sekirei of the group started to speak up and he looked at her with a soft smile.

"Just Naoki is fine," he let her know and she nodded while simultaneously swallowing nervously.

"Y-you said that no one outside of you and Takao-san remember this 'conception' right?" she asked him and he nodded in acknowledgement, "s-so that means that the world ended and no one even noticed it?"

"They noticed it when it happened… they just don't remember it since the world was recreated," he corrected for her, earning another nervous nod from the girl.

"B-but it's almost like it never happened," she continued to try and rationalise it.

"Yeah… but it did, I'm the proof of that," he acknowledged for her, causing her to sink in on herself as she tried to understand everything she'd just learned.

"That's scary," the brown-haired alien admitted.

"Yeah," he acknowledged himself, "the multiverse is a scary place."

"You don't sound too scared," the response made him chuckle mirthlessly.

"That's because I'm one of the scariest things out there," he admitted without hesitation.

His answer didn't seem to relieve her as she just gave a nervous laugh of her own in response.

"Well," Yuko spoke up, drawing everyone's attention towards her, "it's getting late and I'm sure we're going to have an early morning tomorrow."

Naoki found himself looking at the clock and inwardly agreeing with his old teacher's statement.

"Sorry, didn't realise the time," he apologized as he stood up, "so Yashima-chan, Saki, are you ready for bed?"

"Yes Naoki-kun," the first of his Sekirei who had previously just been watching and listening to the conversation chirped in with none of the uncertainty that seemed to seep into Saki.

It was clear from that that to Yashima, none of what he said really mattered and given how she seemed far more isolated and naïve than her more experienced 'sister' it was probably a case of her only caring that he was her Ashikabi as opposed to anything else.

"Are you planning on sneaking into my room like you have the past couple of nights?" he decided to ask her blankly, earning a nervous chuckle off the lighter haired alien, "fine, just come to bed with him instead of sneaking around."

"R-really?" the younger of the two asked with clear surprise in her tone.

"Yeah, it's pointless to put you in another room if you're just going to end up in my bed anyway," he admitted casually, "what about you Saki?"

She gave a clear grimace at that before speaking up, "sorry… I think I need a bit more time to let everything settle in."

"Why?" he found himself blinking as Yashima spoke up, "Naoki-kun is both of our Ashikabi so why does it matter?"

"I've just learned that everything I knew was a lie and that my Ashikabi is a demon capable of slaughtering gods with both hands tied behind his back," the newer of the duo listed off with clear difficulty, "how am I _not_ supposed to freak out about this?!"

"Yeah, it's going to take some time for Saki to digest it all," the only Ashikabi in the house spoke up easily in response to everything that had just been said, "honestly I'm still a surprised at how well you're taking everything Yashima-chan."

"You are?" she certainly sounded surprised by his admission.

"Yeah, I don't know of anyone who took in the supernatural aspects of the world as well as you did," he admitted to her, "well, without being raised to know about them anyway."

"There are some exceptions," Yuko spoke up, drawing his attention to her once again, "there are some people who have a natural aptitude towards this type of thing… though they usually have some rather bad experiences upon their introduction and have to learn to adjust to get through."

"I see," it was a pretty simple point and one Yuko would know more about than him… she had been actively involved in the Supernatural since before he even knew it existed and even now that he was one of the most powerful beings in the Multiverse, he didn't hunt down the Supernatural.

Otherwise he'd probably hunt down the Kuzunoha and get a few drinks with Raidou The Fourteenth.

He let those thoughts leave his head as he returned to the matter at hand.

"Anyway, I'm going to bed," he said without any further ado, "are you coming Yashima?"

"Yes Naoki-kun!" she was clearly excited at getting to go to bed with him and he found himself chuckling at it.

"Well, good night Yuko, Saki," he said as he started to make his way out of the room, "I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Good night Naoki-kun," both of the recipients responded as he finally left to go to bed with Yashima following close behind.

He soon found himself in the bedroom with his first Sekirei entering behind with a clearly nervous expression adorning her face.

"A-Ashikabi-sama," the term she used for him made him pause for a second as it combined with the nerves in her voice, bringing a probable scenario to mind.

"Yes, Yashima-chan?" he decided not to point out the fact that he didn't want to be called Ashikabi-sama since this was clearly a case of her nerves acting up and causing her to slip somewhat.

"A-are we going to… going to uh…" it was clear she was struggling to say what she wanted to and the way she was blushing so vibrantly made a certain conclusion come to his mind… that she was going to ask if they were going to have sex, "make love?"

He once again found himself freezing as she used a particular phrasing he hadn't been thinking of.

Due to his general status as a 'teenaged' vagabond, he didn't have much experience with sex in general… with the people that were interested in having sex with him generally not being the type of people he was comfortable being with… and beyond that, he never really associated with others his own physical age due to not being capable of doctoring school records for him to transfer.

And then there was the time he had gotten mixed up in a situation involving a Succubus in Brazil but he'd ended up destroying it instead of screwing it.

Plus, there was the issue with Pixie being Pixie and being likely to vaporise anyone that did it with him.

So despite everything, he found himself being a thirty-five year old virgin.

He found himself sorely tempted to say yes, to get her in bed and enjoy her body to the fullest.

However he pushed those thoughts out of his head as he gave his response.

"I'm sorry Yashima-chan," he apologized as he gave his answer, "but I don't think I can give you what you want yet."

He noted the way she seemed confused before he explained himself.

"I'm just not sure I can make love instead of just have sex with you yet," he was expecting her to deflate, or start looking depressed but instead she just smiled at him with a hint of relief in her features.

"That you care enough to say that shows me that you're wrong," her statement was made with a confidence he hadn't seen her display before, "if you really weren't able to then I don't think you'd say no."

The way she seemed happy despite what he had told her made his heart beat faster, the way that she seemed to believe that he was wrong and that he could give her the love she wanted even now was something he hadn't expected her to think.

"I can't promise I'll be what you want," he decided to warn her as he found himself having more trouble resisting the prospect of what she was offering.

The response he received was little more than a smile as she leaned in and brought her lips to his.

Once again he felt his power flow from him and into the girl bound to him… but this time he found himself transfixed as the spectral wings and the veins of power were not accompanied by screams of pain.

Looking at her now was a far more transfixing sight than he had realised.

The fact that his analysis ability indicated she had just pushed her power to its limit in the same manner that the Kaja spells did so was just a minor curiosity.

Removing her lips from his, the young alien proceeded to give him yet another soft smile before speaking once more.

"You are my Ashikabi," her smile was radiant as she continued, "you _are_ everything I want."

Well… looks like he wasn't going to sleep just yet.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

The following morning was an interesting affair as far as Naoki was concerned.

Waking up to a naked woman was certainly a new experience for him and despite the unfamiliarity of it, he found himself relaxing as she lay with her head on his chest.

Of course, none of that matched the realisation of what had happened last night.

He had lost himself as he gave his all to the alien that had bonded with him.

Despite his concerns that he wouldn't be capable of anything more intimate than base sex, he had lost himself and given to the girl completely.

And it felt good.

He had given himself to another completely and in doing so discovered something about himself he had never realised.

That he really did need someone to love.

As cheesy as it sounded, he now knew that despite the feelings he had for Yuko, they had always been tempered by the knowledge of her mortality… by knowing she would die one day and he would be left alone.

But Yashima… she was now a demon like he was, someone that wasn't bound by the mortal coils and that he didn't need to worry about losing.

He had found someone he truly could give himself to and it was only now that he understood how much he craved that person.

Letting out a small smile, he placed his hand on the small of her back and proceeded to rub it before speaking quietly.

"Good morning Yashima-chan," his words seemed to cause her to stir as her eyes fluttered open and she looked up to him.

The way she blearily blinked at him before she seemed to really regain her consciousness only made him smile more.

"A-Ashikabi-sama?" she sounded uncertain of what was happening before a few seconds passed and her eyes shot open in shock as she jerked upright, "I'm sorry!"

He had to blink at her immediate claim as she seemed to shake at something he didn't understand.

"What's wrong?" he found himself asking in confusion.

"I… I didn't mean to force you to do this with me," she said and he found himself internally sighing at what she seemed to conclude.

So he did the first thing that came to his mind in this situation.

He noticed her eyes once again open in shock as he latched his lips onto hers for several seconds in a tender kiss that ignited the bands of power and spectral wings, before removing himself so he could speak again.

"You didn't force me to do anything Yashima-chan," he stated with a smile, "and beyond that, you were right."

His admission provoked a reaction he hadn't expected as the short haired girl's eyes started to tear up before a massive smile erupted on her lips.

"D-does that mean…" she seemed uncertain of what to say before she managed to steel her confidence, "does that mean that you love me?"

He let out another soft smile as he said something he thought would take far longer than it had.

"Yes," with that he gave her another kiss, once again igniting the wings of power natural to her species, "I think I do love you."

"Uh… um…" she was once again uncertain before saying what was on her mind, "are we going to do it now?"

Clearly she had noticed the current state of his manhood but looked at the time and shook his head.

"Sorry Yashima-chan," he really was sorry as well, "but I've got a couple of interviews this morning… so we have to get up."

"Of course Naoki-kun," her response was easy and she immediately allowed him to get up from the bed as they started to go about their day.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Matsu found herself jerking awake as a voice rang out through her room much to her surprise.

"Good morning number zero two!" before she even had a chance to gain her bearings she found herself looking at a screen filled with the face of Minaka Hiroto.

Honestly it was probably one of the worst ways she'd ever woken up since she was born.

"M-Minaka?" she found her brain waking up quickly upon realising what was happening, "are you here to ask about Conway-san?"

"That and some other things as well," the man admitted and she found herself releasing a sigh as she looked over everything she had found on Gabby Conway.

"Well… her files are definitely fake," that much she could tell however there was something she wasn't quite so understanding of, "unfortunately I can't find anything else apart from that… nothing I search gives me any clue as to who she really is or where she comes from!"

It was honestly frustrating that she couldn't figure out anything about this person… almost as frustrating as the organisations she had come across in her studies that were almost as mysterious as the secretary.

"I see, thank you for your effort Number Zero Two," she found herself freezing at the casual way he seemed to be accepting this information… or lack of it.

"… you were expecting me to find nothing weren't you?" that was the only conclusion she could find for him being so quick to accept her lack of success in her research.

The smile he gave her said she was right.

"Well now Number Zero Two," he continued and she found herself once again uncertain if she should really be helping this man before dismissing that… this was for the greater good after all, "I have a list of other subjects for you to help me research… I'll be sending it to you soon."

Once again she found herself narrowing her eyes as she wondered just what he was going to have her look into before a small realisation popped into her head.

"Let me guess," she started, "Kashima Naoki is one such subject."

"No, I already know everything I need to about him," the man admitted with a casual grin, causing her to frown, "now, I should be getting to work soon so I shall speak with you again soon."

And with that the man turned off the video call.

She found herself releasing a few deep breaths now that she no longer had to look at that man's face anymore and proceeded to calm herself down before checking her e-mails for the list to be researched.

Of course, she'd have to put off some of it for a little while since her reaction to her new housemate was beginning to grow beyond her control and would need resolving soon.

She found herself releasing a small chuckle as she thought of how an ambush in the bathroom would go as she finally chose to open the e-mail that had been sent to her and seeing the subjects to be researched.

Immediately she found herself frowning as she looked at the very first word on the list.

It certainly wasn't something she was expecting to have to research but she shook her head.

Minaka may be eccentric but he was no idiot, so if he sent her a list then it would have a purpose even if she had no idea what that purpose could be.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Yuko couldn't stop herself from smiling as she watched Naoki and Yashima sit at the table.

They both looked so happy and she found herself quickly realising what had happened to create that atmosphere between the two.

Honestly that realisation made a small part of her swell up with jealousy… but she quickly shot that down as her happiness overwhelmed it.

While she may have been unhappy that she couldn't be the one to make him that happy, she understood exactly why she couldn't do so… and seeing him so happy was more than worth it.

Of course, it was clear that she wasn't the only one to notice… especially given how Pixie looked to be close to being outright furious at the moment.

"So, did you two have a good night last night?" it was a rhetorical question but she felt like it would be worth asking anyway.

"Yes," the way Naoki answered without hesitation clearly made Yashima embarrassed but the man continued anyway, "Yashima-chan helped me learn something about myself last night."

"Is it about how lonely you really were?" it wasn't a hard conclusion for her to make and the way the dark haired man answered said it all.

"Yeah," it was a tone filled with melancholy as he obviously understood exactly what she meant.

"What do you mean lonely?" Saki spoke up from her place at the table.

Honestly the girl was still struggling to get used to the way her life was going to be from now on but at least this time it was the quality of her breakfast that had apparently caught her off guard.

It appeared that she had previously only had cereal when she woke up and getting a full breakfast was something she wasn't used to.

Let alone a breakfast of such high quality.

"Saki… I'm thirty five years old," the man stated bluntly, "it's hard for me to get close to others because I'm just going to have to leave them soon because of my chronic case of remaining fifteen years old."

"Ah… sorry," it was clear she hadn't thought of that… then again she was still getting used to the mere idea that he wasn't human or Sekirei… let alone the fact he was much older than he looked.

"It's fine," Naoki spoke up with that smile gracing his face, "I now have you, Yashima-chan and Pixie to keep me from getting lonely instead of just Pixie and Yuko."

She noted the way his missed her name out of the group that could keep him company from now on and once again felt her frustration rise at the knowledge of her mortality.

However she quickly pushed it down and simply let herself be happy at seeing Naoki looking so clearly happy.

She probably would've been a bit more uncomfortable with the situation if it wasn't for the knowledge of the bond that existed between them… that was definitely helping their connection and let her know that they wouldn't leave him for anything less than being destroyed.

However there was something she needed to ask.

"Saki-san," she spoke up, earning the attention of the newest member of the household, "don't you have work?"

"Ah, well I only really went there to meet lots of people and find my Ashikabi," she admitted with a shrug, "so I sort of… well… quit… last night."

The immediate groan that escaped Naoki's lips made it clear that he wasn't particularly happy that with revelation.

"Eh? Is there something wrong with me quitting?" the girl asked in confusion and Naoki raised his head before nodding in confirmation.

"Yeah… it's hard enough trying to support just Yashima," he stated with a groan, "your species just eats too much."

The blinks of confusion that the newer girl gave indicated that she had no idea what the issue was.

"But what about your MBI card?" that question was made with a confused frown that made Yashima let out a mirthless chuckle.

"I… um… kind of lost mine," it was clear the short haired girl was rather sheepish about the situation and Saki proceeded to just gawk at her.

"You _lost_ your MBI card?!" it was clear that the newer of the two found it such an incredulous situation but that was quickly changed by the only male at the table.

"That's how we met," Naoki said with a small smile, "Yashima was hungry and stopped me to ask for some food… back then I thought her hammer was a prop for a cosplay."

Yuko found herself letting out a small chuckle at that. It seemed only natural for her old student to make such a simple mistake, after all, even if he was to lift the weapon she had estimated to weigh at least half a ton, it would still be so light he wouldn't notice any difference between it and an inflatable version.

"Seriously?" Saki sounded incredulous at what had just been explained to her, "then does that mean you've been feeding her with your own money?"

"Well… Yuko has been helping with the food since I'm currently unemployed," the demonic man answered with a frown that made her frown in turn.

He didn't have to feel upset about spending her money, not when he struggled to keep a job due to his condition.

"In that case," the darker haired Sekirei spoke up with an amused grin on her face, "here you go."

And with that the girl fished a golden card out of her pocket and gave it to Naoki who looked at it with clear suspicion.

"And you think this'll work?" she could understand why he was asking but the Sekirei just looked at him blankly.

"Of course it'll work," she sounded almost offended by that but continued, "sure it has limits on how much can be spent on each transaction but there isn't any actual hard limit on it."

"Saki… I told Minaka to go fuck himself," he stated bluntly, earning a few blinks of confusion from the girl as Yuko found herself smiling in amusement.

"I'd… be surprised if you were the only one," the more human of the two Sekirei said as if it was obvious, "that shouldn't change the effectiveness of the cards though."

"Then I'll see if it works later," Naoki said as he pocketed the card, "is there a PIN for it or does it need a signature?"

"Neither," the Sekirei answered easily, "since those cards are only issued to Sekirei, they're automatically approved just from swiping them."

"That doesn't sound very secure," Yuko found herself stating bluntly. Certainly the Sekirei may be more powerful than humans but that didn't mean the cards couldn't be lost or stolen without them realising.

"Given some of the ditz's that came from the labs, that would just make things harder," the newest member of the household said with an amused grin, "I mean, if you ever met number eighty-eight then you'd know exactly where I was coming from."

"Number Eighty-Eight?" it was clear that Naoki was just as confused by that as she was given the way he proceeded to ask about it.

"Oh yeah… I never gave you my number did I?" the Sekirei sounded somewhat surprised before shaking her head, "I'm number fifty-five."

"Oh, and I'm number Eighty-Four," Yashima seemed to decide that that was a good time to chime in with her own apparent number.

"What does the number represent?" Naoki asked and she nodded in agreement with his question… was the number a measure of power or was it indicative of something else.

"It represents the order in which we were activated and grown," that answer from Yashima made it obvious that Saki was the older of the two.

"I see…" Naoki sounded very focused on the situation before he released a sigh of defeat, "unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask you about it later because I've got a train to catch to get to my interview."

"I could get you there if you wanted," Pixie spoke up for a change but Naoki just smiled at her before shaking his head.

"That's fine Pixie, I want to get a feel for where I'm going," she found herself smiling at his decision to not take the easy way as he proceeded to rise from his seat, "now, I'll see you all later."

"Goodbye Naoki-kun," Yuko found herself saying it as just one of the chorus while Pixie proceeded to vanish from the table, likely not wanting to stay around the girls that had attached themselves to her master so quickly.

And with that, the second oldest in the room proceeded to leave for his next interview.

"Well, I should be going soon as well," she finally decided to speak up as she rose just after the boy left the house, "but before then…"

She watched as Yashima and Saki turned their attention towards her.

"Thank you Yashima," that statement seemed to catch the duo off guard as she continued, "Naoki looked happier than I have ever seen him look since the Conception… and I'm certain you're responsible for that."

It was clear that the young alien was embarrassed by that information if the way she looked down nervously was anything to go by.

It was honestly quite amusing to see.

"And I'm certain you will help when you're ready as well Saki," she decided to direct towards the older and apparently more sensible of the two.

"O-of course," it appeared that the darker haired alien hadn't expected that from her but she smiled in response as she prepared herself to go to work.

"U-um… Yuko-san?" she found her attention drawn back towards the younger of the two Sekirei.

"Yes?" she was curious as to what Yashima was going to say now that she had said her part about the youngest member of the group.

"Y-you said I was responsible for Naoki-kun being happy," she sounded unsure of that but continued anyway, "why couldn't you make him happy?"

"My mortality," she didn't even need to think about it, that was the only thing that had been stopping her from becoming more to her student than what they currently were.

"B-but couldn't you find a way around that?" she found herself slightly surprised by the way the alien immediately asked if there was a way around that issue instead of focusing on the idea of just making him happy while she was still around but quickly dismissed that.

"We tried," that was certainly no lie, however she had come to realise that being the Maiden of the Conception had tied her intrinsically to this universe and she would be unable to defy those laws, "nothing worked."

She found herself frowning as she realised that now that Naoki had his Sekirei, she could finally tell him the truth, could finally let that spark of hope die so he could move on with his new… girlfriends? Wives? She wasn't sure what to call the duo.

She doubted he'd be happy to learn that she would die just as this universe intended for her so that her essence could be used to create a new maiden to act as a catalyst for the next conception.

The fact that she could already feel the universe taking that essence from her was only making it clear to her that she would be recycled soon.

At least now she could die happy in the knowledge that her student would have shoulders to cry on.

"Anyway… we can speak more later," she spoke up once again, "I have to get to work."

"Y-yes… um… goodbye Yuko-san," the younger of the demonic aliens responded nervously as the older proceeded to simply raise her hand and give her a casual farewell.

And with that, she started her journey to work.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Gabby could do little more than pray to The Lord Almighty that Minaka wasn't going to do his usual insanity today… she was certain it was going to be the death of her and the complete destruction of the plan.

Steeling herself for whatever the idiot was going to do, she opened the door, the cup of coffee she was bringing for him at the _just_ the right temperature for the mad scientist.

She found him looking very focused and incredibly serious as he worked at his computer, immediately making her heart sink at what that would probably mean.

"Minaka-sama, your coffee," she called out to him, earning a beatific smile off the man.

"Excellent Conway-chan," the white-haired moron spoke up and she found herself growing even more concerned, "you're just in time for the show."

Show?

No.

No, no, no, no, no, NO!

He didn't do something, did he?

"What show are you talking about Minaka-sama?" she was terrified out of her mind as she tried to keep a straight face… the last thing they needed was for this idiot to incite the fury of the Hitoshura.

"It appears that Higa Izumi has decided to make his move against Mikogami Hayato already," and with that statement, she found her mind freezing.

He _wasn't_ talking about Kashima?

This situation was completely unrelated to the Hitoshura?

THANK YOU, SWEET MERCIFUL GOD!

The sheer relief she felt flood her system at that knowledge was enough to almost make her break her composure but she remained professional despite that.

"I see," she said with an easy air to her that she hadn't felt since she had learned Kashima was involved in the Sekirei plan, "do you know what brought this on?"

"From what our analysis of their network usage can tell us," the man started before letting out a clearly interested grin, "some unknown woman named Yuriko."

Her heart skipped a beat.

 _She_ was here?

Then that meant that the forces of Chaos were on the move and Higa was no longer the pawn of the Sekirei plan… but more likely a pawn of Chaos.

"I see," she answered with her usual air of confidence as she considered the situation, "I will leave you to your entertainment then Minaka-sama.

"Of course Conway-chan… I would rather not be disturbed for this," and with his dismissal, she left the room and immediately made her way to the hidden room that the director was ignorant of.

" **Why have you called me again so soon?"** the voice she would never forget due to her sheer nature spoke up and she turned to face the owner.

"It would seem that the forces of Chaos have made their first move," she said with a firm tone, "they sent _her_ to meet with Higa Izumi… and he is making a move against Mikogami Hayato."

Silence reigned for several seconds as her current commander seemed to think about the situation before releasing a nearly inaudible sigh.

" **Unfortunate,"** the voice said with dissatisfaction, **"I had hoped to avoid this event however it appears we must start spreading** _ **it."**_

Her eyes widened in disbelief at what the other being was saying.

"What do you mean we must start _spreading it_?!" she could tell that was a foolish plan even without putting two seconds thought into it, "if we have to use _it_ then surely we should keep it isolated to specific individuals."

" **Keeping it isolated is not simple,"** the voice responded without any obvious anger at her defying it's decision but she knew that it was due to experience, **"we cannot allow Chaos to destroy everything we have worked for… even if it may draw the Hitoshura's attention."**

"Yes… I understand," she said reluctantly, she knew that leaving Higa unopposed would destroy their plan but she still felt that making things more noticeable to the Hitoshura was a foolish idea.

" **Now, return to your duties,"** the voice commanded and she once again found herself compelled to obey.

"Of course, Michael."

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Higa couldn't do anything more than stare at the information that lay before him as he sat in his Limousine in preparation for his attack on the largest competitor in the Sekirei Plan.

Mikogami Hayato was little more than an ignorant boy who treated the situation as nothing more than a game.

Unfortunately, the brat was deeply invested in the Plan since he had apparently decided he would do everything he could to win it.

It was the rationality of the child that made it clear he couldn't be converted against the tournament.

While Izumi had found himself hating the Sekirei and the situation and only participating to figure out what Minaka was doing, Mikogami had invested himself in winning for the sake of winning.

That made him an accomplice in Minaka's scheme… or rather, the scheme of those manipulating Minaka.

It was actually rather relieving for him to learn that Minaka, the idiot that had discovered an alien spaceship and used it as a basis for his empire, was in the end, nothing more than a pawn filling a role assigned to him by higher powers who did not rely on luck to achieve their goals.

There was no way luck was involved in there being no information on your existence or the fact you could literally give out applications that could summon extra-dimensional demons to fight for you after all.

Looking at his phone, he remembered the creature that was currently stored within the unassuming piece of technology and shivered.

He may have managed to return it to its proper place but he wasn't sure if he could manage it a second time.

"Higa-sama," he was brought out of his thoughts by Kakizaki speaking up, "is it time?"

He looked at the information once more and noting that Mikogami was currently preparing to leave with a few of his Sekirei.

"Wait until there is some distance between him and his base," he spoke up, after all, all he needed to do was remove Mikogami from the equation and the Sekirei he left behind would be removed from the equation.

"Understood Higa-sama," and with that, he waited for his first move in the war to end the farce called The Sekirei Plan.

* * *

And that's all for today.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I would also like to say... the bit with Yashima at the beginning actually came out of left field for me... that bit pretty much just wrote itself in without my permission -_-'

But it's staying.

Anyway... until next time...

Shadow out.


	7. Chapter 7

Well... Sorry for the delay on this chapter.

I have a bit of a problem when it comes to writing action scenes so it took a long time to get this out.

Especially with my typical case of "not feeling like writing" afflicting me once again.

Now on an unrelated note... I've put a poll up on my profile concerning what I should do with my 'WIP fics" so if you are at all interested in them, then feel free to vote on it.

And just to put it out there (yet again), if you have any questions you want answering, then my forum is where you should go... there is a link to it on my profile page.

Anyway... I think I'll just get on with the fic.

* * *

Higa Izumi found himself waiting calmly as a limousine left the Mikogami estate.

It was too early to attack right now but it wouldn't be long before he would unleash his assault on the young boy and eliminate the threat he posed to the progression of his goals.

Thankfully the boy had only taken two of his Sekirei, one inconsequential one with a scythe and another that Kakizaki informed him was a scrap number, a Sekirei so powerful that she had managed to wing herself.

At least, that was the working theory on it, he doubted that was the case especially given the fact that MBI's database also indicated that the scrap number was no match for their own enforcer who was legitimately winged to one of their own employees.

In the end though, none of it mattered if he could get his hands on the boy. After all, the Sekirei wouldn't dare act against him if the life of their master was on the line.

That was a tactic he had already made thorough use of before accepting the deal about destroying the Sekirei plan.

"Follow the car," he commanded easily, causing the driver to nod in acknowledgement and start following the vehicle containing the boy.

If he was correct, then the boy was most likely acting on the text the director of MBI had sent out earlier concerning some new Sekirei being holed up somewhere.

Honestly, he wasn't too concerned about that himself, he felt that he already had too many Sekirei and would rather use the Sekirei bonded to others through blackmail or other such means.

Sekirei number ten was a perfect example of that.

He would've used her if it wasn't for the possibility of Mikogami being the single most well-guarded participant in the entire Sekirei plan.

Time passed by relatively quickly as his limousine continued to follow the other limo, waiting for the perfect opportunity to launch his attack on the other Ashikabi.

He was certain they were far enough from the Mikogami estate now, and to make it even better, they were in a residential area during work and school hours, meaning it would likely be mostly abandoned, so without any further contemplation, he declared his intentions.

"Kakizaki, launch the assault," and with a firm nod of confirmation, his secretary proceeded to issue the command.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Mikogami Hayato couldn't contain his excitement as he thought of the new Sekirei he would soon obtain.

Number one oh eight had previously managed to escape his grasp but this time things would be different… this time MBI wouldn't be guarding her so closely and she wouldn't suddenly create a fully grown forest to protect herself.

Sure she may still be in that forest but at least they didn't have to worry about any more sudden growths like that.

In the end, he would probably only need Yomi, with Akitsu acting as back up in case that fire user tried to get in his way again.

The next moment flew by in an instant as he found himself being grabbed by Akitsu as she leaped from the car just as it was torn apart by a vicious pair of blades.

He couldn't understand just what was going on as he found himself supported by the Ice Sekirei just as she landed but he quickly took the opportunity to examine his surroundings.

Almost immediately, he found himself gulping nervously.

There were so many women that were obviously Sekirei surrounding him that it almost reminded him of his own flock... if his own flock weren't so happy to be with him that is.

The first that he noticed was a girl with short, spiky dark hair, wearing a white Haori with Red Hakama… and wielding an enormous pair of blades that looked very much like they could rip apart a Limousine.

Another of the Sekirei that stood out to him was a strong looking woman with short hair, wearing an outfit that was yellow on one side and purple on the other, with the two sides wrapping around at her midriff as they were held together by a metal ring.

After that, there was a girl with long, dark green hair, wearing a blue and white belly top that was left mostly open. Her legs were mostly covered by thigh high boots, while a pair of bloomers and a garter-belt covered her hips. Beyond that, he quickly noticed the red spear in her hands.

His attention moved to another foe, this one a shorter girl than the others with short, dark purple hair with a matching ribbon resting on top of it, while her body was covered in a long white dress with a purple bow and a black fabric that acted almost like a combination of a corset and a dress. The worrying part however, was the series of chakrams that were floating around her.

Another Sekirei that he didn't recognise was a young looking woman with short blonde hair, a striped tube top with matching bicep long gloves, a pair of bloomers held up by a belt and stockings that covered most of her legs. Her weapons were also rather dangerous looking, a long series of whip-like strings with sharp blades attached to the ends.

The last of the group was easily the least threatening of them all… being the youngest looking of the group with her hair tied into a pair of ponytails that fell down over her shoulders and wearing a long Kimono with exceptionally long sleeves and a black belt held in place by a ribbon. His eyes however noticed a sharp looking glint that appeared from the ends of those sleeves and gulped as he wondered what sort of weapons she used.

He couldn't tell if there were any more Sekirei behind him given his current position but he had a feeling there were… after all, the only other Ashikabi with this number of Sekirei were The East and West… and from what he had heard, the West didn't act like this.

"W-what do you think you're doing?!" he cried out, "that could've seriously hurt me!"

He didn't want to admit it, but the way they had torn apart his car could have very well killed him.

"Yeah… it's lucky for us you survived," the one with the spear spoke up easily, "it means we get to draw a bit more blood before taking you for our Ashikabi."

He couldn't stop himself from swallowing nervously at that claim.

"B-but that's against the rules!" he declared firmly, knowing that Sekirei attacking Ashikabi was forbidden by MBI.

"So what?" the one with the yellow and purple outfit asked with an amused smile, "our Ashikabi doesn't care for this game you're playing."

So Higa of the East didn't care about the Sekirei plan… that was definitely scary since it meant he wouldn't play by the rules that were set forth by MBI.

There was one thing he could take advantage of though.

"Yeah, well how is he going to handle it when the Black Sekirei comes for him?!" he had already had the displeasure of meeting the Black Sekirei once and could honestly say that she was a horrifically monstrous creature… massacring one of his Sekirei just because they had met on the street.

"You're making a massive assumption there kid," the one with the spear spoke up with amusement in her tone, "you're assuming you'll get the chance to tell someone about this!"

His eyes couldn't follow the movement, one second she was a couple of dozen feet from him and the next she was barely six away with a wall of Ice blocking her path.

The massive crack that spread through the Ice Wall made it clear that it wasn't going to hold for long and Akitsu quickly jumped back with him.

"A-Akitsu, Yomi, are there anymore enemies?" he asked nervously, unsure of his chances of getting out of this without losing his Sekirei.

And it was all because the East was a dirty, no good cheater!

His ears picked up the sound of slashing and several screams before a familiar presence settled beside him.

"Not anymore Mikogami-sama," suddenly the situation felt like it was a disaster to a stroke of luck.

After all, now that Mutsu was here there was no way they could lose.

"Shit! I thought that guy was supposed to be at the mansion?!" one of the Sekirei that were attacking him asked with clear frustration.

"Following a Limo isn't exactly inconspicuous," his first Sekirei responded bluntly, easing the tension that had spread throughout the Ashikabi's body.

"I shouldn't have expected any less of you Mutsu!" he exclaimed happily as he basked in the fact that his first and most powerful Sekirei was now here to protect him, "now, let's show this cheater who's boss!"

Mutsu gave a small sigh of defeat upon hearing that.

"Yomi, take care of Mikogami-sama," the white haired Sekirei commanded quickly, "get him out of here."

"Y-yes!" the scythe wielder responded quickly, moving to take their Ashikabi off the ice wielder.

"Akitsu, back me up," it was another simple command but the busty Scrap Number refused to move.

"Akitsu, do as Mutsu-kun says," Mikogami found himself commanding softly, earning a small 'ah' in acknowledgement from her as he was handed over to the scythe user who quickly tried to leave.

"Like hell you're escaping!" and almost immediately a series of knives cut off the retreat for an instant before they were frozen solid along with the Sekirei they were attached to.

But that instant was enough for another foe to make their way to block him and Yomi from leaving.

In another instant, he found himself being moved out of the way of the new attacker as his scythe wielding Sekirei took a blow that had previously been aimed at him.

"Yomi!" his heart was pounding at the current situation, it seemed almost guaranteed that he was going to lose at least one of his Sekirei if the latest occurrence was anything to go by… there was only one way he could think of to overturn this current situation, "Yomi… let me give you a Norito."

The only response he got to that was a pair of lips locking with his own as his Sekirei's wings erupted and she was empowered beyond what she normally was.

" _Scythe of my pledge, reap the woes of my Ashikabi_ ," the whisper that came from her lips was nowhere near as loud as the battle raging around them, but he could hear them as clearly as a gunshot in a silent room.

Almost immediately, she turned and proceeded to swing her blade diagonally, unleashing a gust of razor sharp wind that forced her opponents to guard or dodge... the one that chose to guard was in for a rude awakening.

"Argh!" that was the thing about Yomi's variant of wind manipulation, even if it was defended against, there was the possibility that it would continue around the guard and still cut her foes.

When empowered by a Norito, it was only made more dangerous... dangerous enough that it could just slice through a flimsy enough guard.

Which is exactly what happened when her strike hit the defence of the Sekirei with the long sleeves hiding a vicious looking pair of blades, breaking through the weapons and cutting into her chest with little effort as it knocked her back, with deep gouges stretching from hip to shoulder.

"A-Ashikabi... sama," he felt his heart clench at those words from the downed Sekirei... as much as he liked to think of this entire situation as a game, it didn't change the fact that each defeated Sekirei was a reminder of what could face him if he lost.

Even if Mutsu had told him that the winner would be able to reactivate all the defeated aliens, it was still hard to watch his own birds being taken from him.

But that was just one more reason why he had to win this tournament, even if that meant deactivating the Sekirei of other Ashikabi.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Mutsu couldn't stop himself from swearing under his breath as he dodged yet another strike by the lance user before blocking a ferocious kick by their partner and jumping even further back as a third foe took a shot at him.

This situation was certainly not something he was happy to be in, but he was at least relieved _he_ was the one in it… had it been any other Sekirei that lacked area of effect attacks, then they would've been eliminated within seconds of starting the battle.

At least as a member of the original S Squad, he had experience with the chaos of war and facing multiple opponents.

So despite being on the back foot, he was at least capable of handling his foes, Yomi was clearly suffering from facing superior numbers while trying to keep Mikogami-sama safe and Akitsu…

"GAHHH! WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THIS BITCH?!"

Akitsu was infuriating her foes through her sheer raw power and range of effect making numbers completely useless against her.

It probably wouldn't take long for him to receive back up from the ice user, at which point the battle he was currently engaged in would be over with his victory almost assured.

But for now, it was simply a case of paying attention to his own situation and avoiding his foes until he could find an opening he could take advantage of.

"Shit!"

And he struck.

His foe was too busy being distracted by a light behind him, most likely Yomi receiving a Norito and he took advantage of it without hesitation, carving a wound that would prove fatal into his foe, deciding that this was not a situation where he should hold back.

Of course, seeing their comrade fall drew the attention of the others, not that it mattered as much now that he was only facing two opponents instead of three.

It seemed he may not even need Akitsu's help anymore.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Higa couldn't stop himself from frowning as he watched the battle that was taking place between his and Mikogami's Sekirei.

It was obvious that his Sekirei had the advantage of numbers but that was the only advantage they had.

Even the weakest of Mikogami's Sekirei had the obvious advantage of being in a Norito state and allowing her to take out one of her aggressors, pushing the advantage into her own favour.

Then there was number zero five, with his wartime experience of being assaulted on all sides granting him more than enough ability to systematically dismantle his opponents while the Scrapped number had powerful area of effect attacks that rendered the numerical advantage obsolete.

It was genuinely frustrating.

If he had simply managed to eliminate the boy then it would be a simple matter of getting away from the scrap, but with zero five showing up, his initial plan had been foiled.

"That's another one of your Sekirei eliminated," Kakizaki stated with a nervous gulp, things were definitely not going as planned and his Sekirei were now starting to drop like flies, "and another... only Toyotama and Ichiya are left."

He could do little more than exhale in frustration, he had already lost the majority of his Sekirei due to the unexpected interference of zero five and despite not participating in the tournament on the same level as the other Ashikabi, he couldn't afford to be taken out of it.

And with that in mind, he made his decision.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Mutsu could feel relief starting to wash through his form as Akitsu took down her opponents and Yomi finished off her own foe, leaving only the pair of physical type Sekirei that were attacking him, the one with a spear and the other with greaves.

That meant that the battle was decided and once the duo had been taken out, he would have to send a message to MBI about Higa's attempts at harming his Ashikabi.

Gripping his sword firmly but flexibly, he immediately charged at the Sekirei that focused on kicking her opponents, she had less ability to block his attacks after all.

He couldn't stop the sigh of annoyance that escaped his lips when the blue clad lance user got between him and his opponent and thrust, forcing him to dodge before she attempted to swing her spear at his side, something he had already been more than ready for, allowing him to bring his blade up to knock the swing high while he ducked under it.

His sword was in just the right position, this next strike would eliminate her and he could tell by the way her teeth gritted that she knew it.

Instantly he jumped back, his instincts crying at him to get away and his eyes widened as a bolt of lightning struck where he had previously been, causing his foe to let out a surprised yelp in response.

His mind started to race.

Why were they here?

Even if he had gotten into conflict with Hikari and Hibiki before, they were clearly even more firmly against Higa so why did they attack just then?

"What the hell?! What do you think you two are doing getting in our… what the hell is that?!" the short haired foe immediately responded before trailing off upon looking in the direction of the lightning, prompting him to turn his own attention up the way.

"W-what?" he couldn't stop the word from escaping his lips as he witnessed something he had never expected to see, an unknown figure with a giant pair of bat-like wings and a long whip-like tail, casually floating in the air.

"Oh? What's the matter number Eighteen?" the… whatever it was, said with amusement obvious in its tone, "even after I was kind enough to save you for Izumi-chan."

And with that, the creature descended to the road and Mutsu immediately felt his blood run cold as he noticed the casual way the creature offered him no attention as it spoke towards his enemies.

"Hmm… I guess Izumi-chan has a thing for big boobs… must be why he didn't want to screw me," the creature said without hesitation and he found himself inwardly wondering if it actually thought that or if it was ignorant of its own apparent physical immaturity.

Make that immaturity full stop… he had not expected the creature to start molesting the lance user.

But that did give him an opening.

In an instant, he had closed the distance and slashed his sword at the winged creature… only to jerk awkwardly as it was stopped mid-swing by the tail that extended from the winged girl's rear.

"Now now, don't be greedy," the creature spoke without any hint of concern in its tone, not that he could blame it, it had just blocked his attack with nothing more than its tail after all, "I'll make sure I have more than enough time to violate you as well."

His blood ran cold at both the statement and the way she said it like it was an undisputed fact… this creature planned on 'violating' him when it was done with its own 'allies'.

"Akitsu!" his call was loud and immediately, he jumped away, allowing a newly formed spear of ice to sail past where he used to be and strike at the foe, knocking it back slightly but doing nothing more.

"Are you serious?" he felt his heart starting to pound faster as the previously dismissive attitude of the creature morphed into something far more sinister, "did you really think that that would work given your level?"

He couldn't stop himself from swallowing nervously, the creature looked almost angry right now and it still had his sword.

"You ningen are too low on the multiversal food chain to even interact with someone like me," the dismissive way she spoke made it clear that she was looking down on them, but the anger was still unexpected, "so even if you try to exploit my weakness like that, you're too low to succeed."

Weakness?

Was that creature weak to ice? Because if it was, then they really were completely helpless against it.

"Weakness?!" a voice he had hoped would be gone by now called out and Mutsu couldn't stop his mind from focusing on the fact that his master was still there.

"Yomi! Get Mikogami-sama out of here now!" he commanded firmly, earning a quick acknowledgement from the weakest member of their current team.

"Oh? Well… I guess a moving target is fine too," the creature spoke before pointing in the direction of his master.

Before he could even react, a bolt of lightning arced towards the fleeing Sekirei and he noted that Yomi had succeeded in moving their master out of the way of the bolt.

Unfortunately, she couldn't say the same about her spine.

The charred flesh that denoted where the bolt had grazed her was obvious, the fact it had been torn asunder and cauterized at the same time showed that the creature wasn't playing in the same category as Hikari and Hibiki, their strikes were more just shocks than anything else… but this, this was likely even more dangerous than _actual_ lightning.

"Y-Yomi?!" he couldn't stop himself from grimacing as he heard his Ashikabi call out to the Sekirei that was definitely about to deactivate before he shut out that situation and slammed his foot into the ground.

Channelling his power to an extent he didn't normally do, he forced the ground beneath the creatures' feet to erupt upwards, knocking it into the sky where it was almost immediately encased in a solid block of ice.

"Akitsu, get Mikogami-sama and run!" he commanded once again, watching as the ice user moved towards the human boy before turning his attention back to the opponents.

He watched as the ice started to crack before it had even had a chance to hit the ground, before he was rudely reminded that he wasn't up against a single foe when he was forced to dodge a strike by a viciously grinning Sekirei.

Unfortunately for his opponent, he wasn't completely reliant on his sword.

With his foe moving so close, he was more than capable of using his now free set of hands to grab the spear to take for himself, only to find a leg aimed at his side, striking him with a force great enough to force his grip loose on the spear and allow its original owner to win the grapple and strike at him once again.

Barely dodging the attack, he noted the line of blood that now graced his chest as the ice above shattered, raining down on the street and causing his despair to deepen.

One on one, he may have been able to buy Mikogami-sama some time… but now…

Now all hope was lost.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Mikogami could do little more than stare as his first Sekirei was ganged up on by a pair of other Sekirei and some sort of Succubus.

He had already lost Yomi to that monster and now he was going to lose Mutsu too… it wasn't fair.

Everything had been going so well until that game breaker showed up and casually blocked his first and favourite Sekirei with nothing more than a stick thin tail.

It just wasn't fair!

Why did he have to lose his Sekirei because Higa was being a dirty cheater?!

Why?!

His mind noted his phone beeping but he didn't pay it any attention… he had more important things to deal with right now, even if it was just trying to accept the loss of his Sekirei.

The beeping continued and he gritted his teeth as he pulled out his phone to turn it off before stalling.

His phone didn't have that beeping.

Looking down to the touchscreen, he was greeted by the sight of an unknown application sitting on his home screen, making him wonder just how bad the day was going to get.

"Dammit! I don't have time for this shit!" he cried out and was immediately caught off guard when the phone lit up.

[Summoning Program Remote Activation Initialized]

His mind froze at that statement taking up his phones screen before it turned black and a design that he could only describe as an occult style circle appeared and shone with a brightness that made him close his eyes.

"Greetings summoner," his eyes opened and he was greeted by a sight that made him stare in disbelief.

Porcelain skin, long blonde hair, wings of the purest white… and a lot of leather straps and a blind fold… he just knew it was an angel even despite the clothing fit for a fetish shop.

"Tch, an Angel huh? I guess those bloody Seraphim are making their own moves now aren't they," he heard the demonic creature spit out despite the distance, drawing the attention of the pure being that currently floated before him.

"Master, please remain calm… I shall eliminate the Lilim," the angel spoke without hesitation and he felt relief flood his being as it raised its hand, unleashing a beam of light towards the enemy that had ruined his day completely.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Mutsu couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Mikogami-sama had somehow managed to summon some form of Angel that was now fighting the monstrously powerful foe he had been expecting to die against.

Watching them facing off against each other was like watching Miya once again, though the part that really made him nervous was the way he could follow the speed of their movements without actually following their movements themselves.

It was scary how they seemed to move at a speed he could comprehend but in a form that he couldn't… it was almost as if they didn't even exist on the same plane of reference he did.

That was the truly terrifying part about watching them, their attacks caused ripples in the air, but when the ripples touched him, it felt less like a sonic boom and more like his entire being was shaking at a subatomic level.

Like he was being thrown around a room without touching the floor.

His eyes widened at the realisation of what he was feeling… he was feeling ripples of G-force with each hit his opponents made against each other.

All it did was make the battle even more terrifying than before.

Enemies that could cause gravitational waves just by clashing were so far beyond his frame of reference that he didn't even know where to start in defining how powerful they were.

He needed to get to Mikogami-sama and get him out of there.

The power that was currently being thrown about was too great and he was not going to risk his masters life in a battle between higher forces.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

To think, such a thing was actually happening right here in this very city.

Minaka couldn't stop the grin from gracing his lips as he watched the live feed from a loyal operative.

He was certainly happy they had already been informed about the existence of such beings as it meant that even the most surprising turns of events didn't make the camera shake too much.

The power of the demonic creature probably would've been a surprise if he hadn't already known that the Sekirei didn't compare to the higher existences out there courtesy of Kashima and number one oh fives minor confrontation.

However, the following event had been even more interesting.

Witnessing a low-level showdown between some form of Succubus and an Angel had only made it even more obvious that the Sekirei were outclassed in every imaginable way, their attacks reverberating through the air, their moves possessing a grace that simply felt beyond mortal ability.

It was obvious that they were beasts of legend.

And he already knew that they were bottom of the barrel existences compared to someone like Kashima Naoki.

The Sekirei plan was really starting to heat up and his excitement was threatening to boil over even though things were still in their infancy.

Lastly of course, there was the question of whether or not Gabby would realize he had seen the battle himself or if she would assume he had no idea what had actually happened.

The second option was the one he would be more comfortable with, after all, if she knew he had witnessed the battle between angel and devil, she would probably keep a closer eye on him than she would otherwise.

Well, it wasn't like it really mattered, he would figure out who she was and what she planned regardless of how close an eye she kept on him.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Higa couldn't stop himself from gritting his teeth in frustration.

He had summoned Lilim with the intention of seeing if she could help shift the battle to his favour and she had done that so effortlessly that it had outright terrified him.

Her previous comments about how the Sekirei didn't stand a chance against her were no longer hollow boasts by a childish monster and were now a confirmed fact.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Mikogami had an ace of his own waiting in the wings.

An Angel that looked like it belonged in a low budget porno.

The worst part, was that Lilim seemed to be _losing_ to the Angelic foe, though she wasn't completely outclassed.

But in the end, he had to make a decision and so he called it.

"Number sixteen, number eighteen," he called out to his two remaining Sekirei over their headsets, "retreat."

" _Yes, Higa-sama,"_ the response was the one he expected and it didn't take long for the duo to leave the area with the Limo also retreating, leaving the devilish girl to hold off the angel.

After he was sure he had made enough distance between him and the angel, he pulled out his phone and recalled the Lilim, noting that the app told him it was heavily damaged.

"Will everything be all right Higa-sama?" Kakizaki asked once they had confirmed everything was as they expected.

"I will need to speak with that woman again," he knew that if his foes had beings as powerful as that angel, then he would have to find minions that were more powerful than the one he had right now.

And only that Yuriko woman knew how he could get them.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Mikogami Hayato could do little more than stare in shock as he tried to process the information given to him by the angel that had emerged from his phone.

The Sekirei Plan was a method of determining who would create the new world when this current one lost all its energies and perished in a few years time.

And to make matters worse, Higa was actively trying to prevent that outcome, trying to stop the selection of a new creator and cause the permanent death of the world.

He grit his teeth in anger as his fists clenched in fury.

He didn't want the world to end but if there was no other option then he would become the new creator and make a world where no one would have to suffer, no one would have to be lonely and everyone was like a Sekirei, filled with love and loyalty.

Looking over to the area where the defeated Sekirei lay, his eyes lingered on Yomi's, causing him to swallow as tears swelled up in his eyes at having lost her because of an omnicidal monster like Higa.

If he became the new creator then he could bring her back to him, it was possible wasn't it?

And so, with a firm nod to himself, he made his decision.

He would win the Sekirei Plan and make a new, better world for everyone.

XXX A DEVIL'S WINGS XXX

Mutsu couldn't stop himself from grimacing as he felt the ice that was being used to stem the bleeding from his wound.

Akitsu had proven to be rather accurate in her application of the ice and he should be capable of lasting long enough to receive proper medical treatment back at the manor.

However that wasn't the most important thing as far as he was concerned.

No, that lay with the story the angel spun to his master… sure it was an angel, sure the story sounded plausible given the fact he had just discovered angels and demons were real.

But he couldn't bring himself to believe it.

Not with the smirk that graced the winged creature's face when Mikogami-sama clenched his fists.

The problem was, how could he deal with this foe and whatever influence it would have on his master.

Perhaps he should contact an old acquaintance… even if she was an unrepentant pervert, she was still one of the most brilliant minds in the world, so if anyone could help him, it would be her.

* * *

And that's it for today.

As I said before, I have problems with action scenes so I realize it is substandard as far as they go.

And there was no Naoki or anyone in his group in this chapter either but that's because it didn't feel right to put them in here.

Hopefully, the next update I make will be sooner.

Anyway... until next time.

Shadow out.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone.

Since it has been so long since I last updated this, I think I'll just ignore answering reviews and just get straight on to the story.

So without further delay:

* * *

Naoki couldn't stop himself from releasing a sigh as he returned home after another job interview.

He was hopeful that he'd finally receive a job offer soon, even if Saki had revealed the presence of the MBI card she had, he still wanted to make sure he wasn't relying solely on something that could be taken away at any moment.

"Welcome home Naoki-kun," he was greeted by the voice of Yashima as he made his way to the living area.

"Hello Yashima-chan," he responded with a smile as he found her sitting in front of the TV, "where's Saki-chan?"

"Ah, she went out shopping," he nodded, it wasn't a surprise she would do so given her possessing a MBI card that supposedly had no limit.

"Did she say what sort of shopping she was going to do?" he found himself wondering if she was planning on buying groceries or was just doing some pleasure shopping.

"Well... she said she was going to buy me some new clothes that..." she seemed to look away in embarrassment before continuing, "don't stand out so much."

He had to blink at that.

"Didn't you want to go with her?" he asked, causing her to shake her head in the negative.

"I didn't want to leave the house unguarded... or for you to come home to no-one," she explained and he found himself offering her a soft smile.

"You don't have to stay here Yashima-chan," he told her without hesitation, "as long as you make sure you lock the door then it'll be fine."

"Sorry, I just wanted to be here when you got back," she responded with her expression downcast, causing him to let out a small sigh as he put his hand on her head and rubbed it softly, much to her apparent surprise.

"I'm not upset Yashima-chan," he told her as softly as he could, "I'm just not sure if you're doing it because you feel like you have to or not... I don't want you to limit yourself trying to please me."

The way the girl immediately looked away with a blush made it obvious that something he said had embarrassed her.

"It's just that… well, I'm just happy to have my Ashikabi," she said and he found himself inwardly flinching at that.

It made him feel like a jerk from trying to get her to stop putting so much focus on him.

"Sorry Yashima," he said with a sigh, causing her to look at him with confusion, "I'm still getting used to this whole 'Ashikabi' thing, so I'm probably making mistakes… but I do want us to be equal in this relationship."

She let out a smile of her own as she spoke up with her own thoughts.

"I know… but right now, I just want to be with you," she said without any real hesitation.

Closing his eyes, he started to think before he came up with a small idea that might work.

"All right then," without hesitation, he voiced his thoughts aloud, "then how about we consider this our honeymoon period."

"Eh?" she seemed confused by the phrase he used so he decided to explain.

"When a human couple gets married, they usually go somewhere to spend time alone to celebrate their marriage," he told her, "but in this case, I'll stop trying to get you to do other things."

She looked surprised by his statement before her cheeks lit up.

"Uh… could we have a proper honeymoon at some point?" she asked him nervously and he found himself blinking in surprise before feeling a smile tugging at his lips.

"Of course Yashima-chan," he told her as he pulled her into him, "though we'll probably have to bring Saki along too."

"Of course we would," she said without hesitation, "she's with us too."

It was still strange to think that he was in a relationship with two women who were both aware and willing to share him… though that was mainly because of the idea of the relationship being romantic as opposed to purely sexual.

He could easily have believed it if they were simply forms of Succubi using him to fulfil their lust, but that would've been completely different to his current situation.

The fact that Yashima was so accepting… and even somewhat encouraging, of the idea of there being another woman with her Ashikabi was still strange.

"Well then… I guess we'll have to find somewhere we can all agree on going," he told her with a smile, earning a nod from the short haired Sekirei, "do you want to start looking at holiday spots now or wait until Saki gets back?"

"We should probably wait for Saki-chan," she responded without even a second thought, "its for all of us after all."

He nodded before deciding to give her a quick kiss on the forehead.

Her smile was radiant.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

"I'm back," Naoki heard the voice of Saki call from the doorway, causing him to look at Yashima and give her a warm smile that was quickly returned.

"Welcome home Saki-chan," he called out as he rose from the sofa with his first Sekirei and moved to greet her.

"Hello Naoki-kun," the response was almost immediate and he found himself watching as she carried several filled bags that would've been too awkward and heavy for a normal human to manage effectively.

"Do you want a hand with them?" he asked and she blinked before offering him a smile.

"That would help a lot thank you," she responded and he immediately took some of the bags she was having the most trouble holding in place with her limited limbs, giving her more room to grip the remaining bags effectively.

Taking the bags into the kitchen, he started to help her put everything away, before noticing one of the bags contained some red and black, frilly female undergarments.

"Do you like them?" he heard her ask uncertainly, with a small blush on her cheeks.

It was plainly obvious why she got them.

"They're nice, but you didn't need to get them," he told her with a smile.

"That's a relief," she claimed while releasing a breath she had clearly been holding, "I didn't know if you were into that sort of stuff."

He couldn't stop himself from chuckling at her.

"Saki-chan, you and Yashima-chan are far more important to me than you seem to realize," he told her in no uncertain terms, "you're probably two of only three people that will stay with me for the rest of my life."

"Who's the last?" Yashima asked without hesitation.

"Pixie," he told her without a second thought… she was the one demon who had stuck with him no matter what after all.

"Uh… does that mean you'll be joining us tonight Saki-chan?" Yashima asked and Naoki found himself noting the blush that currently adorned the former waitresses face.

"I-if you're okay with it?" she said with a tone of nervousness in her voice.

Yashima's response didn't surprise him anywhere near as much as his lack of surprise did.

"Of course!" hugging the older girl made it clear she was happy at the thought of sharing her lover with the other girl.

Saki herself looked surprised by the reaction before offering a soft smile of her own before returning a soft hug before being released from what was probably a death grip by human standards.

It didn't take long for Saki to compose herself before opening her mouth.

"So, uh…" she started to say before finally settling on something, "what did you want to speak with me about?"

She was definitely sharper than Yashima.

It was natural that having both of them get up to greet her would mean there was something they wanted to talk about.

"Me and Yashima were talking earlier," he admitted before deciding to simply say it bluntly, "we think it would be a good idea to have a honeymoon at some point."

Immediately the older of the two Sekirei proceeded to trip up when putting something away, nearly dropping it before managing to catch it and turn to him.

"A-a-a honeymoon?!" she sounded shocked by that thought.

"Yeah," he replied without hesitation, "I take it you know what it is?"

"Of course I do… it's just," she started before looking away from him, "isn't it a bit sudden?"

Naoki found himself blinking in surprise at her reaction before remembering that despite being a Sekirei, she had managed to build a life for herself in Shin Teito before winging herself to him.

"Besides, shouldn't we leave it until we're actually married?" she asked him after a few seconds and he found himself frowning in response.

While it was true that it would probably be more traditional to leave a Honeymoon until then, the issue was marrying both of them given how many countries made Polygamy Illegal.

It wouldn't be impossible to go to one of the few countries where it was still legal but that would push it back a little while.

"We can wait," Yashima spoke up, "if we can both marry Naoki-kun then we can have our honeymoon then!"

He couldn't stop himself from releasing a smile at Yashima's declaration.

He would definitely take them somewhere where Polygamy wasn't illegal at some point in the near future.

XXX A Devil's Wngs XXX

Yuko Takao found herself smiling upon returning from work.

Seeing Naoki and his two psychic aliens sitting in front of the television, cuddling up to each other with an intimacy that looked perfectly natural for the three was something that she couldn't stop herself from feeling a sense of satisfaction from.

Even if they were new figures in his life, seeing how easily they were all getting along made it clear to her just how good for him they were.

The fact that she was almost certain he wouldn't have to worry about any mortality they might possess given the immediate after-effects of their bonding ritual only made it even more comforting for her.

"Welcome home Yuko," his voice called out and she found herself moving towards a lone chair where she proceeded to sit down and join in watching the TV, "how did your day go?"

"The same as always," she responded without hesitation, she was currently just going through the motions at work after all… she wouldn't be staying long if her current condition was anything to go by, "and how was yours?"

"More interviews," he responded with a shrug, "hard to get used to how they're conducted over here when I spent so long in the West."

Ah yes, the cultural differences between Japan and the West were rather pronounced when it came to interviews if she remembered correctly.

"I'm sure you can manage," she said with total confidence in her tone.

"Thanks Yuko," the smile on his face was clear and the two Sekirei that were currently pressed into his sides also seemed to brighten somewhat at his slightly improved mood.

"So, have you decided what we're having for dinner?" she decided to ask, earning a small chuckle off the only male in the room.

"Do you have any preference?" he asked her in response,, even as Yashima perked up in interest.

She started to think carefully about something to choose… she wanted to pick something that was within Yashima's ability to cook, but wouldn't be too easy for the budding chef either.

If it had been Naoki on his own, then it would've been a much simpler process, she was pretty confident he could make practically anything she could think of to a professional standard if he put his hand to it… but Yashima didn't have the same vast experience he did when it came to the kitchen.

So she would have to be a little more careful with her selection.

The problem was that she didn't know what would be out of Yashima's ability… the girl hadn't been around that long after all.

Eventually, she decided to simply ask for something simple.

"How about some Yakisoba?" she could see the amused smile on Naoki's face even as a determined glint appeared in Yashima's eyes.

"All right then," he said as he looked at the youngest person in the room, "are you ready to learn how to cook Yakisoba, Yashima-chan?"

"Yes Naoki-kun!" the determination that filled the voice of the light brown haired girl was clear and almost infectious.

"Uh… I know how to make Yakisoba," Saki spoke up with a small hint of annoyance in her tone.

"I thought you would," Naoki said in response, earning a blank stare from the older Sekirei, "but Yashima-chan here wants to learn how to cook, so I was going to give her a few lessons."

The nod of acknowledgement from the girl who arrived with an oversized hammer made it clear that she was agreeing with that statement.

"O-oh… I see," the blush that came to Saki's face at that was obvious.

"Do you want to help Saki-chan?" he asked her and she seemed to jerk slightly in surprise.

"Uh… is that okay with you?" the darker haired Sekirei seemed uncertain but Naoki's first psychic alien seemed more than happy to accept that idea.

"Of course!" the softness that appeared on the more socially adept member of the alien species made it clear she hadn't been expecting to be accepted quite so quickly.

"Well then, let's go and cook some Yakisoba," and without any delay, the trio all got off the sofa and made their way to the kitchen.

Without the trio sitting down, Yuko found herself in he prime location to change the channel.

And so she did.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Higa Izumi could do little more than frown as he returned to his office in defeat at the hands of Mikogami Hayato.

"I see you failed to defeat the Ashikabi of the South," he was immediately drawn out of his thoughts as he noted the woman that currently sat at his desk, her jet black hair and porcelain white skin more than recognizable to him.

"And I see you've decided to show your face to me again," he pointed out with as much confidence as he could manage.

"Yes, well, we had a slight miscalculation in our plans," she admitted without any real hint of concern, "we didn't expect our enemy to hand out the Demon Summoning App so soon."

So she admitted that she hadn't expected Mikogami to be capable of putting up as much resistance as he managed.

"And what do you intend on doing about that?" he decided to ask, it was pretty obvious to him that the woman wasn't there for nothing and he doubted she was planning to kill him so quickly.

Her smile was not quite dangerous enough to be called a smirk, but it still possessed an edge to it that made it clear she considered herself superior to him.

"I will simply give you access to the market," she said without hesitation, causing him to frown, "of course, you'll have to earn the right to hire more powerful demons, but it will be a start at least."

He wasn't entirely sure what she meant by 'market' but he got the impression that it would be something he'd be more than capable of adjusting to without much effort.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and immediately pulled it out and looked at the screen, blinking in surprise at the message noting that the 'Demon Auction' had been installed.

"How did you do that?" he asked, he hadn't seen her do anything that would allow her to transfer a program to his phone.

However, upon turning his gaze back towards that Yuriko woman, he felt his blood go cold as he realized she was no longer there.

The fact she managed to vanish in the time it took for him to look at his phone simply made him swallow nervously, that was clearly not a human ability, meaning she was either using demons herself, which was very likely in his opinion… or she _was_ a demon and he was being played like a fiddle.

Neither option was something he found particularly appealing.

Releasing a sigh of defeat, he quickly made his way to his desk and took a seat before opening the new application that had been installed just seconds ago.

It was clearly some form of Online Auction House, though he found himself frowning at the currency it apparently used.

He didn't recognize it.

He had no familiarity with the symbol used for the currency, had no idea how to make a currency exchange for it, hell, he couldn't even do something as simple as input his credit card details into the app.

All he knew was that he only had 100 units of it in his app.

And from what he could tell, most of the surprisingly high numbers of bidders were all paying far more than that for what they were purchasing.

He gritted his teeth in frustration.

Here he was, the owner of a multi-billion Yen conglomerate and he was unable to pay for something simply because he didn't know how to acquire the correct currency.

Then he froze.

He was thinking of this by the same standard he would think of his usual business, but this wasn't an auction for items… it was an auction for _**demons**_ , while he was certain they held different standards for propriety, the fact they were being sold meant they were likely being sold not by humans, but by other demons.

Meaning there was an opportunity for him to learn what he was wanting to find out.

Switching back to the Demon Summoning App, he activated it with a simple intention.

"So… you finally decided to call me back out Higa-chan," the teasing voice of Lilim called out in his office once again.

"I need your help," he admitted without hesitation, causing the demonic girl to tilt her head slightly to the side in response, "I was recently given the Demon Auction App, however I have run into an issue with it."

"Uh… I'm not a techie, you'll have to call someone like Dagda for that," her response wasn't entirely unexpected given that he'd seen her eat batteries like candy, but he wasn't going to give up just yet.

"My problem is the money used," he stated immediately, causing the winged girl to blink.

"You mean Macca?" her response was quick and questioning, causing him to return to the Auction App and show the symbol for the currency, "yep, that's Macca."

Well, that was step one completed.

"What is Macca?" he decided that step two was to figure out everything he could about the currency.

"The official coinage of the Demon World," she told him chirpily, causing his eyes to furrow in thought.

"And how do I get more?" that was probably the most important question of them all right now.

"I don't know," the nonchalant shrug the creature gave with that admission only further served to make him grit his teeth in irritation, "back home we just kill each other and take it."

What a very demon-like thing to do.

Regardless, it left him back where he was before regardless.

Releasing a sigh of annoyance, he found himself looking at the Auction App some more and trying to figure out just how he would hire his demons without using up all of his currently available finance.

Naturally, there was a 'buy now' price for most demons but those were obviously going to be higher prices than what a person would normally be willing to pay for them.

And then there was a group at the very bottom, several demons that hadn't sold yet, that had no bids on them despite their timer being close to running out.

Well… he was desperate right now, so placing a couple of bids probably wouldn't hurt too much.

He just hoped they weren't _**completely**_ useless.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Mikogami found himself almost frowning as he looked at the new application that had been installed on his phone alongside the 'Demon Summoning App'.

The so called 'Demon Auction' was something he found himself not particularly happy with.

Maybe if he could spend his own money on it then that would be fine, but he couldn't and to make matters worse, there were so many targets in it that looked strong or cool.

Certainly, the fact that he had been given access to something like that by the Angels that had given him the summoning App was a little strange, but Angel had told him that the demons selling themselves on the Auction would pledge their allegiance to whoever bought them, making their presence tolerable for the upcoming war.

And that was something that he was still having trouble trying to wrap his mind around.

The revelation that the Sekirei Plan was now ground zero for a higher dimensional war.

It truly made his previous actions within the confines of what he thought to be a game into sharp relief.

It was one thing to participate in a tournament with the belief that it didn't really matter if you won or lost, sure he had been aiming to win since that was the most fun way to play, but it wasn't important that he won.

Now it was.

Now winning the tournament was the single most important thing he could do, because if someone like Higa won, then everything would be doomed.

"Mutsu-kun," he called out as he looked at his first Sekirei, "which demon do you think I should buy?"

He noted the frown that the grey haired man made upon being asked that, not that he couldn't understand, buying demons to save the world wasn't something that sounded particularly heroic after all.

"That's your decision, I know nothing about any of them," the swordsman stated even as he glanced towards the angel that was still manifested in the room.

Why was Mutsu focused on the angel?

He doubted the Sekirei was attracted to it, their bonding meant he could only love him after all, and beyond that, even the look in his eyes couldn't be described as pleasant whenever he looked at it.

Thinking about it for a few more seconds he came to an obvious conclusion.

Mutsu must be jealous.

For so long, the number zero five had been his strongest and most effective Sekirei, with Akitsu being his only real challenger for that spot and even she lacked the skill to surpass him in battle, but now he was being completely overshadowed by the sheer, unassailable power the angel possessed.

And now he was aiming to collect more fighters that were just as powerful as his angelic guardian.

He wanted to reassure his favourite Sekirei, but given the situation, he couldn't find anything that he truly could say to do so.

So with a frown, he once again looked at the options available for his purchase in the Demon Auction.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Naoki found himself releasing a comfortable smile as the movie they had been watching ended.

Cooking Yakisoba with Yashima and Saki had been quite the fun experience and he actually found himself looking forward to the next time all three of them tried cooking together.

The meal had turned out correctly, though the variation they ended up with wasn't his preferred style, even if it was still perfectly enjoyable for him.

After that though, everyone had found themselves sitting down at the Television and watching whatever came on, eventually leading to them watching a subtitled Superhero Movie.

Finding out that neither Yashima or Saki had learned any English gave him something else to teach them.

After all, they'd probably be able to enjoy Hollywood Movies more easily if they weren't having to split their attention towards the subtitles.

"Well, I'm going to go and have a bath," he announced to the group as he prepared to get up from his very comfortable position between his two Sekirei.

"I'll wash your back," Yashima immediately said before a look of realisation crossed her face and she proceeded to look at Yuko, "I mean, if you're okay with me joining Naoki-kun?"

"Go right ahead, it'll probably save me money on the water bill," his old teacher responded with an almost amused smile gracing her lips, "same goes for you Saki."

Naoki couldn't stop himself from releasing a small chuckle at the small jerk his second Sekirei made at that before she looked at him with cheeks red enough to make an Oni proud.

"Uh… are you okay with us joining you Naoki-kun?" she asked and he found himself offering her a soft smile.

"We're bound together for eternity… of course I'm okay with you joining me," he decided to simply put it as bluntly as he could.

He immediately noted the way her face seemed to fall at that.

"Are you okay?" his question was an obvious one but he felt he needed to ask it anyway.

"Y-yeah…" she definitely sounded hesitant, "it's just, well… I guess I haven't really processed the whole 'eternity' part of our union."

He let an amused smile grace his face at that before pulling her tighter to his chest, earning a rather undignified squeak in the process.

"That's fine, I've still not fully processed it myself given that I've only spent twenty years of it," he said with amusement at the thought of how young he was compared to how old he would probably grow to be, "now I think it's time to get washed up."

And with that, he rose from his seat, with the two alien women quickly following suit.

"Enjoy yourselves," he found himself smiling at Yuko's words and how both his Sekirei seemed to be blushing in embarrassment from them.

"We will."

His response just made their blushes darker.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

"Minaka-sama, your coffee," Gabby said as she put the white haired idiot's cup of caffeinated beverage on his desk.

"Thank you Conway-chan," his response was perfectly normal, with nothing indicating he was up to something.

That alone set her on edge in the current situation.

"Is something wrong Minaka-sama?" she decided it was better to try and pry instead of being caught off guard by whatever idiocy he was contemplating, "you sound awfully quiet compared to normal."

"Oh, it's just that Higa Izumi has lost the majority of his Sekirei in his confrontation with Mikogami Hayato," the man's words made her internally relieved, sure Higa may have been granted the Demon Summoning App, but in this situation, the Sekirei were still the keys to Kouten, so the less Sekirei a person had, the easier it would be to remove them from the pool of candidates for creators.

"Is that a problem Minaka-sama?" she found herself asking, wondering just what the man was thinking right now.

"Of course it is!" the man proclaimed without hesitation, "it means that the competition is one-sided, and one-sided is _boring_!"

She had to suppress a smirk… the idea of the war being one-sided was laughable at best but the fact that their pawn apparently had an obvious edge should make everything easier.

"Beyond that!" the man continued, "some Ashikabi are still refusing to join in!"

That wasn't really something she was all that worried about, honestly, she'd be far more concerned if Kashima decided to get involved than if he continued to sit it out.

"I mean, what do I have to do to get these people to want to compete?" the white haired moron continued to rant, "tell them that victory will give them the power to give birth to a new world?"

Her fake heart skipped a beat at that declaration.

"A world filled with Sekirei, superpowers and true love!" the idiot continued and she found herself relaxing.

For a second there she wondered if he had somehow managed to figure out what they had repurposed Kouten for, but regardless of that, she was certain that if the Hitoshura heard that description of events then he might actually investigate and that was the last thing they wanted him to do.

"Perhaps you should simply leave them be?" she offered, earning a curious look off the billionaire, "if they aren't fully invested then they'd not be of much entertainment would they?"

The man seemed to almost consider it before shaking his head.

"Maybe, but it will help spice things up if we bring the more interesting people in," she felt her heart sink at that declaration, "such as number eighty-four and her Ashikabi."

This was bad.

How should she deal with this? Maybe if she had been a little more powerful then she could've simply brainwashed him into leaving the Hitoshura be, but she was at the weakest she had ever been for millennia and lacked the power to really do anything like that.

"Why does it matter if they're involved?" she asked, earning a grin from the man.

"Don't you remember Conway-chan?" he asked with a grin that could almost be considered predatory, "Kashima-san broke number one oh five's hand by not moving out of the way… so we have a potential super-soldier in the fray and they're not doing anything right now."

This was definitely bad, he was certainly heading in the direction of dragging Kashima into the Sekirei Plan.

"But would it be interesting if he got involved and won without issue?" she asked, only to witness his grin grow.

"Oh? Does that mean you know something about him that I don't?" dammit! She hadn't meant for him to consider that!

Think, think…

"No, but if he is durable enough to withstand Benitsubasa's punch, then he's likely going to be impossible to defeat," that should be reasonable enough to deal with his suspicion.

Hopefully.

"Hmm… perhaps," the man acknowledged, "however, he would certainly unite everyone against him if he got involved and that could prove entertaining to watch."

Stop it!

Stop trying to destroy the plan that had been so carefully laid out until now!

"But wouldn't that just cause the plan to end too quickly?" perhaps she could appeal to that type of mentality.

"I suppose it might," he admitted, "but I do find myself curious about his potential for violence."

She had to stop herself from flinching at that statement.

The idiot had no idea just how much potential the Hitoshura had for that, it was right there in his name after all.

"Well, I shall allow you to return to your tasks," his words caused a sense of dread to fill her, if he decided to drag the Hitoshura into the plan when she wasn't there to try and avert that then everything would be ruined.

"Yes, Minaka-sama," but she had a role to play and overstepping her boundaries would cause more problems than it would solve.

So for now, she would leave him and pray that he didn't do anything too stupid.

* * *

And that's all for today.

Shadow out.


	9. Chapter 9

Well, here I am again.

So let's get on with the chapter.

* * *

Matsu couldn't stop herself from frowning as she continued to look up information concerning The Ring Of Gaia and their connection to a man named Hikawa.

It was a shame that Minaka had failed to give her anything more substantial to go off in her investigation but at least she'd managed to find out some connections courtesy of another name he had given her, Hijiri Jyouji… an investigative reporter for an Occult Magazine named Ayakashi Monthly.

A magazine Kashima Naoki was a long time subscriber to.

That part of it made her question the validity to that news outlet, because she already knew that there was something up with Kashima if his ability to break a Sekirei's fist by _**not**_ moving his face out of the way was anything to go by.

So if he was subscribed to this magazine, there was a good chance that it held genuine information, though even then there was the question of what information was actually true and what was garbage.

The worst part of everything though, was that she was spending so much time trying to find out everything she could for a person she hated, that she was having to spend long swathes of time away from her newly acquired Ashikabi.

Admittedly, there was an advantage to that… what with how it meant she was spending less time around Miya and therefore, being subjected to her Hannya Mask far less than she probably would if she hadn't been so busy.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door before it opened to reveal the Number Zero One herself.

"Matsu, come down," she commanded and Matsu felt herself growing cold.

There was either something up or Miya had discovered she had been doing some research for Minaka and was not happy with that.

"Y-yes Asama-san," she cut out her normal quirks due to how serious this was and immediately got up to follow the Strongest Sekirei.

Descending the stairs was a tense experience, she was certain Minato was at work, Uzume was visiting her Ashikabi and Musubi was out getting groceries… meaning it was just her, Ku and Homura in the house.

Reaching the common room, she saw Miya open the door before her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.

"Mutsu-tan?!" one of the original five members of the disciplinary squad was sitting down at the table, with Homura seated opposite him while glaring daggers at the first Sekirei of the Ashikabi of the South.

"Hello pervert," the man responded without hesitation while ignoring Homura's ire, "we have a problem."

Removing her glasses from her face, she found herself steeling her thoughts as she understood just why Miya had ordered her to come here.

"We must if you're willing to risk coming here despite Miya's presence," she stated firmly, "what is it you need to talk about?"

"Angels and Demons," that one sentence made her stare at him blankly before a niggling thought popped into her mind.

"You've seen some haven't you?" she asked and noted how his eyes blinked in surprise at her reaction.

"I'm surprised you believe me," he admitted and she found herself nodding in understanding even as she noted Homura's shock from the corner of her eye.

"I have had reason to believe there is more to the world than we thought for a few days now," she admitted, "… I've…" she hesitated as she glanced at Miya before continuing her admission, "I've also been doing some research for Minaka into some of these things."

"THE HELL MATSU?!" Homura cried out as he rose from his seat and started to emit quite a bit of heat.

"That is enough Homura-kun," immediately the fire Sekirei froze as Miya spoke up, "Matsu has her reasons to help Minaka with this and as long as she shares her findings with me, she should continue to do so."

Matsu found herself feeling a weight lift off her chest as she found herself no longer having to worry about how Miya would react to learning she was helping that man.

"So what happened Mutsu-tan?" she decided to ask, earning a sigh of frustration from the normally composed Sekirei.

"Three days ago Mikogami sama and two of his Sekirei were on their way to collect a new Sekirei from the Botanic Gardens," he stated and Matsu immediately noticed Homura growl in response.

"Kusano," the fire user said with gritted teeth.

"Yeah, that one," Mutsu responded without hesitation, "I noticed a limo following and decided to tail it… it was Higa and he launched an attack on my Ashikabi."

Matsu understood why that would be cause for concern for Mutsu.

"What happened?" she decided to ask, earning a shrug from him.

"Me and Akitsu were more than capable of taking on the assault force," he admitted with ease, " and Yomi was able to defend Mikogami-sama with the aid of a Norito."

She found herself frowning, that sounded perfectly plausible, Higa didn't have much in the way of powerhouses when it came to Sekirei, instead focusing on collecting as many as he could to try and use swarm tactics.

"After taking out most of the Sekirei that attacked us…" the grey haired swordsman said before gritting his teeth, "we were attacked by lightning."

Matsu found herself frowning at that… Hikari and Hibiki wouldn't get involved in a fight between those two Ashikabi.

"I thought it would be the Lightning Twins," he told her and she found her heart starting to race in worry, "but when I looked…"

"It wasn't them," she finished for him.

"Yeah… it was a girl… but she had batwings and a tail," he told her, causing her to frown… what he said made it sound like a succubus.

"What happened then?" she had a suspicion it didn't end well for her old colleague, but she was curious in exactly how he had managed to get out of the situation.

"… it was powerful," he said with frustration clear in his eyes, "so powerful I don't think even Miya-san would be capable of hurting it."

Matsu found herself both worried but surprisingly unsurprised by what he said.

"Even when I tried to strike it down from behind, it managed to block my attack with just its tail and without looking," the Earth manipulating Sekirei's words only made it clearer to her that the chances of Kashima Naoki being a demon were high.

"You don't look surprised," Homura said with narrowed eyes while looking at her and Miya, causing her to shrug.

"There is a boy who recently moved in with the woman next door," she said without hesitation, "number one oh five punched him in the face and broke her hand without doing anything to him."

"… what?" the fire user looked dumbfounded by that statement.

"That's why I'm working so hard to find out as much as I can," she told him firmly, "we _know_ there is something going on with the Sekirei Plan that doesn't involve MBI or the Sekirei… and we're trying to figure out what it is before it's too late."

"The rebirth of the universe," she froze at the sentence that came out of Mutsu's mouth.

"… what?" it was Homura that asked that, with a tone that denoted he had no idea what was going on.

"When we thought we were going to be killed by the demon… or worse," the grey haired sword wielder muttered the second part under his breath before continuing at a proper volume, "Mikogami somehow managed to use his phone to summon an angel."

Matsu had not quite expected that.

The idea that a phone could be used to summon angels wasn't something she expected to be possible.

Though it did fill her with pride that technology could do something that most people would consider to be restricted to the occult… and that was only if they even considered it possible at all.

"So that's how you survived," she deduced without any difficulty.

"Yeah," the number zero five admitted without hesitation, "after it managed to fight off the demon, it explained the situation to Mikogami-sama."

She listened intently as the man continued.

"According to the angel, the universe is dying," she swallowed nervously at that, "and there are forces out there trying to stop the world from being fixed… an action only possible by letting the universe die before being made anew with a stronger foundation."

She couldn't stop herself from feeling a sense of foreboding upon hearing that… a new world being born from the ashes of the old one with a 'new foundation'.

"Apparently they're using the Sekirei Plan to determine who will possess the right to decide the next universe," the visitor continued, "apparently the normal process had already failed… it is a process they called 'The Conception'."

"And why are you here now Mutsu?" she asked him, she didn't know what it was that made her slightly younger 'sibling' come over but she doubted it was just to fill her in.

"… because I don't trust the Angel," he told her and she blinked a couple of times, "after Mikogami-sama made up his mind about winning the Sekirei Plan and creating a new Universe… it… it _smiled_."

"What's wrong with something smiling?" Homura asked with a frown.

"… it was the same sort of smile Karasuba has when she's about to kill someone," that definitely explained why he couldn't trust the creature.

However there was one more thing that was bothering her.

"What do you think Miya-tan?" she asked the 'landlady' who simply sat with her head tilted forward, her eyes shadowed by her bangs and her fists clenched.

It was obvious the woman was angry.

"So they're responsible," the sentence that came from the woman's mouth was filled with a quiet fury that she would normally consider to mean whoever had gained it would die a very violent death.

But this wasn't normal and she didn't know if it was even possible for Miya to defeat one of these demons or angels.

"Responsible for what?" she asked, earning a death glare from the number zero one.

"For severing my connection to Kouten," those words made terror flood her veins, and if Mutsu's reaction was anything to go by, his too.

She had been unaware that Miya had lost control of the single most important place for Sekirei.

"That is…" Mutsu started to say but didn't seem sure of what words to end with.

"… I have no idea what's going on," Homura stated with a tone that clearly indicated he wasn't happy at being left out of the loop.

"Kouten is the flying island the final stage of the Sekirei Plan would occur on," Matsu decided she would explain to the fire Sekirei, "the winner would ascend to it and join with it alongside their Ashikabi, gaining complete control over the Tama of all Sekirei."

"What?!" Homura definitely sounded shocked at that piece of information.

"And Miya-tan was the administrator, the person responsible for controlling it until a suitable goddess was found upon the defeat of the other Sekirei," she continued before rubbing her temples, "but if something has managed to usurp her authority from her…"

"We don't know what they plan to use it for," the swordsman finished for her.

Silence reigned after that.

"Matsu," Homura spoke up and she found her attention drawn to him, "you said the person next door shrugged off a punch from the Red Sekirei… if that's the case then why don't we talk to them about this?"

It was a possibility but there was one massive problem with that.

"We don't know whose side he's on," she responded while shaking her head, "and I would rather not get into a fight with something that can break a Sekirei's fist by _**not**_ dodging."

His grimace at that made it clear he understood why she thought it was a bad idea.

"So what can we do?" he asked and Matsu found herself gritting her teeth as she tried to consider any possible course of actions available to them.

"I don't know," she eventually settled on, "we don't have enough information and this isn't the sort of stuff you can just easily search for without already knowing what you are looking for."

"Then we will just have to bide our time until we know enough to take proper action," Miya proceeded to say and Matsu found herself nodding in agreement even if she wasn't happy at being trapped with no clear solution.

"I'll try and keep in contact, but for now, I need to get back to my Ashikabi before he grows too worried," the visitor said as he rose from his seat.

"Okay, if you find out anything new, do try and pass it on to us," she asked him and he nodded.

"I'll try," and without any further words, he proceeded to leave the house.

"Do you plan on telling Minaka about this?" she found herself frowning and rubbing her temples as she considered that possibility.

"I don't know," she couldn't give a proper answer given her current issue with trying to figure out just what everyone needed to know, "this situation is just too different to anything I am used to."

"…"

Her attention was drawn towards Homura and the silence that reigned there.

She could definitely understand why the fire user was being so quiet right now, both she and Miya were talking about effectively allying themselves with two of the people he hated the most after all.

And she understood exactly why he'd hate both of them.

It may have only been natural that the Sekirei would eventually get into conflict with each other over control of Kouten, but the tournament framework and the way Minaka encouraged the forcible winging of the Sekirei by Ashikabi that wanted to win wasn't something she could agree with.

But then again, Homura may have been ignorant of the nature of their species, he was different to the rest of them after all.

In the end however, there were bigger problems out there and until they'd figured out where they stood, uniting was safer than continuing to fight amongst themselves.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Miya couldn't stop herself from feeling distracted as she made dinner for her residents.

Everything was just going so wrong right now and she didn't know how to deal with the problems that had been presented.

The mere idea that angels and demons were real was quite the revelation, the fact that Mutsu was the one who confirmed it only made the point more believable… beyond that, there was the fact that Matsu wasn't surprised by any of the information he had passed on.

Admittedly, she had kept an ear on the hacker so she had already known she was doing jobs for Minaka, but she had held back her distaste for the man for several reasons.

Among those were the target of the investigation, Kashima Naoki, and also another name that came up.

Gabby Conway.

As much as she hated to admit it, that woman had always unsettled her, mainly due to the way her eyes were always so cold and calculating, how even when being threatened by Karasuba, the emotion she displayed through the rest of her body never reached her eyes.

To find out that there was apparently some connection between her and her neighbours guest was worth letting Matsu look into.. especially if Minaka's secretary was outright scared of him.

But the real question was just how deep this rabbit hole went, already they had discovered that angels and demons were real and apparently in the middle of a war that would determine the fate of the universe.

And from what Mutsu had said, the power gap between Sekirei and these beings dwarfed the power gap between a human and a Sekirei.

It was genuinely frustrating to be placed into a situation like this.

She was so used to being the unassailable monster that no one could stand against that the thought of being reduced to being powerless was… well, it was terrifying.

She didn't even know if she would be able to adapt to being insignificant in the current situation.

It was like throwing someone who had never even seen water before, into the middle of the ocean and expecting them to swim.

Then there was the question of just who was and wasn't involved.

It was clear that the Ashikabi of the South and East were both involved right now and so were Conway and Kashima… but just who else knew about all of this? Who else held power over forces so great that they were more comparable to natural disasters than living creatures?

And why was all of this only just happening now?

What had changed to make things spiral out of control like this?

The only thing she could think of was the appearance of her neighbours old student.

Was he responsible for the sudden increase in danger within the plan? Was he responsible for the more immoral Ashikabi getting their hands on such immense power?

There was no way for her to find out without going to the source of her questions itself and doing that could be potentially dangerous.

But she found herself silently wanting to ignore the sense of self-preservation she had, because beyond everything else, she was furious.

Something had somehow torn away her connection to Kouten in order to use it for their own purposes, corrupting the Sekirei Plan in order to achieve the goal of recreating the universe.

Ignoring the fact that Kouten _**was not theirs**_.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the doorbell ringing.

She found herself frowning as her mind immediately concluded it was most likely Seo.

As much as she may consider the man trash, he was still the closest thing to a friend she had, but he wasn't someone she wanted to have to deal with right now.

"Delivery for Sahashi Minato," an unfamiliar voice called after she heard the door open.

"Minato-san! You have a delivery!" Musubi called out and she found herself wondering just what it was.

"Huh? But… I didn't order anything?" the voice of the boy who had recently arrived at the house said and she found herself frowning.

"Ah! That's Matsu's!" the hacker called out and she found her interest pique.

If Matsu had ordered something then there was a serious question as to what it was.

"Oh… uh, okay then," the young man responded to that claim before the sound of footsteps rushing up the stair caught her ears.

"I wonder what Matsu-san ordered?" Musubi's voice asked with the naïve confusion she was known for.

"I don't think I want to know," the Ashikabi in the house said without any hesitation.

Miya however, found herself internally deciding she would confront the Hacker about it in private later.

After all, she wasn't the type to order anything.

So what was so special that she went out of her way to get it delivered?

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Matsu found her heart beating as she opened the package she had ordered.

She had not expected it to arrive so quickly but then again, with access to MBI funds, getting it over ASAP hadn't been hard.

It was a single book.

A copy of the text known as The Scripture Of Miroku.

It had been impossible to find transcripts of it online and even finding a copy of the book had been hard due to how rare it was… but she had managed it.

And now it was sitting before her, ready for her to study and compare with everything she had already found concerning potential leads on the Supernatural aspects of the world.

So she proceeded to open it and start reading without any delay.

Her mind sifted through the words written down, taking what was written as she compared it to what little she knew, trying to figure out just where any deceit ended and the truth started.

She became absorbed by the words, losing herself in some of the concepts the tome tried to impart upon her.

Had she read it before learning about people like Kashima, or hearing about Mutsu's encounter with a demon, she would've consider it all garbage… but now…

Her heart skipped a beat.

Her throat ran dry and she immediately knew that this book was the real deal.

The Conception.

Right there, resting on the pages of this obscure text that she had only heard about because Minaka had told her to look into a specific reporter and another specific businessman, was the very concept that Mutsu had mentioned earlier that very day.

The way to end the universe.

The actual method of enacting the Conception was detailed.

It made her sick.

Setting up a situation where the universe would end, it wasn't just some horrific ritual to be held in a basement somewhere, no, it required far more manipulation and leverage on several different fronts in order to be able to achieve it.

And the sheer scale of death and destruction needed to act as a catalyst made her want to vomit.

But there was another point that she felt needed to be focused on.

What was this Maiden it spoke of?

According to the scripture, there was a maiden who act as the final catalyst in the rebirth of the universe, someone who would strike the final blow and kill the universe.

Perhaps… perhaps if they could find the maiden then they might be able to stop everything.

Of course, it was all pure speculation but it was probably the only real chance she could think of to deal with this situation.

"Matsu," the voice of Miya called through her door and she found herself losing her balance due to the shock, "dinner is ready, but before then, I wish to speak with you."

"O-of course Miya-tan," without any hesitation, she proceeded to open the door for the landlady who quietly made her way into the room, "what is it you want to talk about?"

"What did you order?" the question was blunt and clear, something Matsu found herself more than willing to accept from her former commanding officer.

"A copy of the Scripture of Miroku," her response was said firmly and without any hesitation, "it's for my research into everything going on."

"Have you found anything?" the woman was clearly not expecting to hear anything.

She was happy to prove her wrong.

"Yes, it outright gives instructions on how to start the Conception," she told the Number Zero One without hesitation, "and there is a key detail that I think we need to search for."

The way Miya's eyes widened ever so slightly at that made it clear she had managed to shock the manager.

Perhaps if the situation had been less serious, then she may have taken some pleasure in knowing she managed to do that… but as it stood, she was much more concerned with preventing the apocalypse than getting one over the strongest person she knew.

"Apparently, in order for the Conception to occur, it requires an individual referred to as 'the maiden', so if we can find them…" she trailed off, causing Miya's eyes to narrow in thought.

"The problem with that," the lilac haired Sekirei said with a frown, "is finding this 'maiden' in the first place."

Matsu simply nodded in agreement, she already understood that it would be difficult to do so, maybe even impossible, but that didn't stop it from being their best shot at dealing with their current situation.

"We probably should get dinner before everyone notices we're taking too long," the red-head said before a feeling of dread welled up inside her.

"Well… there is a simple fix for that," the sweetness in Miya's tone only made her dread increase.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Sanada Nishi wasn't the sort of person to really care about what was going on.

Even with this so called 'Sekirei Plan', all he really cared about were the girls that had bonded themselves to him.

The tournament itself though… that simply didn't interest him.

However…

"So let me get this straight," he said as he processed all the information in his head, "God is real, is a complete jerk, and his followers are high-jacking the Sekirei Plan in order to destroy the universe and remake it with no free will."

"Correct," the woman that was leaning against his bike responded without hesitation, even as his Sekirei looked on in confusion.

"And you want me to join your group in order to derail the Sekirei Plan and prevent that outcome," he continued blankly.

"Correct," the business suit wearing woman said without hesitation.

"And do you really expect me to believe that crap?" he asked with the blandest tone he could manage, honestly, everything this woman had said to him was clearly the ramblings of someone that was completely insane.

His attention was immediately drawn to his pocket as it indicated he had received a notification.

"Check it and you will see that I am not insane," she said while gesturing towards the location of his phone.

He frowned at that, he hadn't seen her hands move away from where they were resting on his bike, and she clearly didn't have anything she could use to interfere with his phone.

So he pulled it out only to see it had downloaded a couple of new Apps.

The Demon Summoning App and the Demon Auction App.

"The hell is this?" he asked, causing her to simply offer him a knowing smirk.

"Turn it on and find out," her command was said with such confidence that he found himself simply going along with it.

Going into the Demon Summoning App, he quickly saw a screen with several boxes, though only one was actually filled with anything.

Pressing that button, he immediately found himself covering his eyes as a bright light lit up before him.

"Hi," a voice that sounded deeper than anything he had ever heard called out, prompting him to open his eyes, "I'm Ogre, let's crack some skulls together."

He felt his blood run cold upon seeing what now stood before him.

About nine foot tall and built like a brick house.

It had long black hair that covered most of a face that he was sure would be nightmare inducing for his more innocent Sekirei, while all the skin covering its body was a mossy green.

Beyond that, it wore a yellow leotard with a large black belt that held up a sack containing things he would rather not know, while a necklace of skulls hung from its neck while a cleaver about the size of his arm was held in one of its hands, looking surprisingly small in comparison to the brute that was holding it.

"Is that enough to convince you Sanada Nishi?" the voice of the woman said and he found himself looking past the giant and towards her, continuing to lean against his bike without a single trace of concern for the monstrosity between them.

It seemed he would have to take this woman seriously after all.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Minato found himself grateful that he hadn't tried to find out what Matsu had gotten delivered.

Seeing her so pale at the dinner table made it perfectly clear that whatever she had ordered had been more than enough to get Miya to chastise her.

He just hoped he wouldn't be targeted too.

A sudden vibration in his pocket brought him out of his thoughts and he pulled out his phone, wondering just what he was being notified of.

He couldn't stop himself from grimacing as he saw the result of his thought.

Somehow a couple of new apps had been installed.

Which meant his phone was probably either infected, or had been hacked.

Hmm… maybe he could get Matsu to look at it, she was an expert on computers wasn't she?

"Hey Matsu," he said, causing the bespectacled girl to look at him with her expression still pale from whatever punishment Miya put her through, "I think my phone might have been hacked."

The red-head simply released a sigh as she gave him a stern glare.

"Give it here," she commanded and he passed it to her, "Minato-tan really should be more… care… ful-"

He was expecting her to give him a small scolding but the way she trailed off even as her skin grew even paler than before made him worry… was this virus really that bad?

"What's wrong Matsu?" the man named Kagari asked with a frown of his own.

"… it's the same," the hackers voice was quiet… quiet and outright _terrified_.

"What are you talking about?" he couldn't stop himself from asking with confusion.

"Indeed, perhaps Matsu should give us some context," the landlady's voice called out and he noted the way his newest Sekirei looked towards her.

"It's the same as what Mutsu told us about earlier," who was Mutsu?

He noted the way it took both Miya and Kagari to process what was said, but when they did, the shock that made its way across their faces was clear.

"Hey? What's going on?" clearly Uzume was completely ignorant of the situation too.

"Uzume, does your Ashikabi have a cell phone?" the usually playful hacker sounded unusually serious.

"What? No, why?" the question was clear, but Matsu simply seemed to sigh in relief.

"Sorry… it's just… if this indicates what I think it does… then Shinto Teito is about to get a _**lot**_ more dangerous," the emphasis on Matsu's voice was clear and Minato found himself beginning to worry.

"Why? What's going on?" he asked, earning a resigned expression from the unrepentant pervert before she pressed the screen on his phone several times.

And with a flash of light, his whole world was flipped on its head yet again.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Yuriko couldn't tell if she had truly managed to secure the aid of the Ashikabi of the West.

The man seemed far more interested in what she was saying after he had received the Demon Summoning App, but the man was too close to being truly chaotic to be trusted.

It was actually rather ironic, that he was too chaotic for the forces of chaos to rely on.

But now, that meant that they had two of the three major Ashikabi, while the forces of Law only had one.

Of course, things would probably liven up a bit now that they had released the Apps throughout all the Ashikabi and several dozen civilians.

There was of course the issue of how long it would take for the Hitoshura to figure out what was going on… given his previous actions concerning this universe, it was unlikely he would appreciate what they were trying to do.

So they would eventually get into conflict with him.

But that wouldn't matter.

After all, for all the Hitoshura's power, he was only one demon on par with beings like Michael and Beelzebub… he wouldn't be able to defeat someone as powerful as her master.

Especially since he refused to discard his humanity and grasp his full potential.

* * *

And that's all for today.

Shadow Out.


	10. Chapter 10

Well... here we are so first things first...

Here is my gift to you for the Vernal Equinox.

Second thing... let's get on with the chapter.

* * *

Life was good.

That was the main thought going through Naoki's head as he and Saki proceeded to teach Yashima the absolute basics of baking cakes.

The fact that Saki was familiar enough with the process to help him teach it wasn't that much of a surprise to him.

She had proven to be rather versatile in her skills… far more so than his first Sekirei was.

Though that was unlikely to remain a constant.

After all, they had eternity to learn and practice as many skills as they wanted.

"Yashima, you're not supposed to eat raw cake mix," he heard Saki say firmly, prompting him to look up from checking to see if the oven had heated up yet, to see the two.

"But it's so good!" it was obvious that the younger of the two Sekirei wasn't happy with being forbidden from eating the mix.

"You can lick the bowl and spoon clear when we're finished," he said, earning a shocked expression off the eighty-fourth Sekirei and a look of dismay off the older one, "however, you have to share with Saki."

The way his first Sekirei immediately turned to face his second would have given any human whiplash, but they were all demons, so they didn't have to worry about anything like that.

"Saki-chan, you said we shouldn't eat raw mix… so I can have it all right?" the less experienced of the two girls asked excitedly.

"You're not supposed to eat it," he decided to interfere himself, "but finishing off what is left when the cake is in the oven is generally accepted."

"O-oh," the lighter haired girl sounded slightly surprised by that explanation.

"Yeah," Saki spoke up herself with a placating tone, "so how about one of us gets to clear the spoon and the other gets the bowl?"

"I want the bowl," the youngest of the group said immediately, earning a sigh off the other Sekirei.

"Yashima, why don't we wait to see which has more mix left before deciding," the response was said with an amused grin, "but you can have the one with more left."

The way the girl who came with a hammer brightened at that made it obvious she was happy with that arrangement, and Naoki found himself offering Saki a soft smile for that.

Seeing the two girls getting along was certainly something he was happy to see, it meant that staying with both of them wasn't going to create too many issues.

"Anyway," he decided to speak up, "that's the oven ready."

"Okay," the response was immediate and he found himself watching as Saki showed Yashima how to set up the baking tin properly before letting her fill it.

It didn't take long to get the mix into the oven and Naoki found himself once again drawn to the pair as they proceeded to clear the bowl and spoon of all remaining raw mix.

Of course, just because the sponge was baking, didn't mean they had nothing left to do.

"Well, on to the filling," he commanded as the pair finished off their respective utensils.

"Right!" the enthusiasm in Yashima's voice was to be expected even as Saki simply nodded in acknowledgement as she collected the appropriate ingredients.

Once again, Naoki found himself impressed with the way Yashima quickly adapted to everything she was being taught, allowing them to get the filling for the cake done without any real hassle.

"Hey, Naoki-kun…" he found himself turning his attention towards the older of the two Sekirei as they finished up creating the mixture, "I was just wondering…"

She definitely sounded nervous, so he proceeded to listen intently.

"… w-would it be possible to go on a date at some point?" her words were spoken hesitantly, but he found his eyes widening in response.

"Oh yeah…" he found himself silently berating himself, "I completely forgot about them."

"Wha-?!" Saki's response was clear disbelief, her jaw slack as she stared at him in shock after he said that, "b-but why would you forget about something like that?!"

"I'm not normal," he stated with a sigh, "I've spent the past fifteen or so years trying to keep everyone at arms length… so I've… well, I've not really been on a date before."

That was the truth.

When he was fifteen years old, he had thought about maybe dating Chiaki at some point… but then the Conception had happened and ruined any chance they may have had at being a thing.

Partly because he had stopped aging, and partly because he could still remember having to beat her to death with his bare hands in order to set the world back to the way it had been before its destruction.

The wounds may have healed, but the scars still remained.

"Y-you've never been on a date before?" he found himself looking at Yashima as her voice cut in with surprise clear in her tone.

"I used to think about it with Chiaki… but then the conception happened," he admitted, "after that, learning that I wasn't aging anymore kind of set my options back."

The way his two Sekirei seemed to deflate at that made him offer them a small chuckle.

"Don't look so down," he told them with a smile, "if I _had_ been in a serious relationship then we wouldn't be together right now."

That seemed to make their eyes widen in shock.

"Do you really think I'd have gotten involved with either of you if there was already a woman who wasn't willing to share in my life?" he asked them with a raised eyebrow, making both of them blush and look away.

"I… I see," Saki sounded almost uncertain as she said that.

"But anyway, I don't see any reason we can't go on a date," he decided to move the conversation back to where it had started, "it'll even be a new experience for me too."

That seemed to make the duo brighten in response.

"The real question though, is what type of date it should be?" he found himself asking with a frown.

"What do you mean Naoki-kun?" Yashima's voice cut in and he found himself blinking.

"Well, should it be all three of us together? Should we have separate dates, and even without that, where would we go?" he asked with his frown still intact.

A light chuckle made him turn his attention towards Saki as she gave him a happy smile.

"And to think," she started to say with her humour clear in her tone, "I thought you weren't taking us on dates because you didn't want to."

He found himself stalling at that.

It explained why she was hesitant to ask him about it.

"Sorry," he apologized before finding himself the subject of a warm hug.

It didn't take him long to return it.

And then the oven beeped.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Minato could do little more than sit on the decking overlooking the yard of Izumo Inn, staring blankly at the sight of Kusano playing with the little red fairy-like creature his phone told him was a 'Hua Po', as he thought about the current situation.

Demons.

Heh… it was ridiculous.

He had thought that learning that psychic aliens were real was bad, but to find out less than two weeks later that angels and demons were also real was just too much.

Especially when there was a literal war going on under everyone's noses.

And he was now an unwitting part of that war.

A war that was now using the Sekirei for a purpose he didn't entirely understand.

Certainly he understood _what_ they were trying to do… he just didn't understand _why_ they were doing it the way they were.

So the universe was meant to die, why not just wait until it ended and make a new one without all this fighting?

And beyond that, why did it have to be a human that decided what the next world would be like?

Humans were flawed, it was in their nature, so wouldn't that make any world created by one flawed as well?

It just didn't make any sense to him.

But maybe that was just because he was stupid… he had failed his university entrance exams three times after all.

"Mina-tan?" he was brought out of his thoughts as a familiar voice spoke up behind him, causing him to jerk in surprise.

"M-Matsu?!" he found himself calling out at the sudden interruption, even as he turned to face the flirtatious hacker.

"Is Mina-tan all right?" he found himself following her as she sat down next to him, joining him in watching the youngest Sekirei play with his own personal demon.

"I…" he wasn't sure how to respond, it wasn't normal for Matsu of all people to sit down quietly like that, "I just can't get my head around this."

"Yeah… Matsu knows what Mina-tan means," she responded with a tired sigh of her own, "this goes over Matsu's head too."

Well, at least he wasn't alone in that.

And if it was Matsu who didn't understand it, then that made him feel better about not getting it.

After all, Matsu was supposed to be really smart.

Even if she refused to learn that it was a bad idea to try and bring up anything lewd in Izumo house.

A silence fell between them, and for once, he found himself feeling comfortable with nothing more than her presence next to his.

He soon found himself smiling as the tiny demon proceed to lift Kusano off the ground with no real noticeable effort, reminding him that for all it looked like it was weak, it was still stronger than even Musubi.

"What can we do?" he found himself asking as he considered the fact that he was in such a bad situation.

Just one loss and he could lose everyone.

And all because he was dragged into this stupid game.

"I don't know," her response was clear and forlorn, even missing her usual playfulness and third person mannerisms, "I'm trying to find out everything I can, but there is just so much information out there that finding the stuff that's true is like finding a needle in a barn full of haystacks."

He couldn't stop himself from looking away even as he found his hand moving to hold hers, an act he was surprised got a surprised jerk from her before she proceeded to reciprocate the gesture.

"I'm sure you're doing everything you can Matsu," he said even as he felt his heart starting to beat faster… to simply hold hands with a beautiful girl like that was enough to override the current overarching situation in his mind.

"Yeah… but it's not enough," she responded with a despondent tone and Minato found himself squeezing her hand as he hoped it would give her some comfort.

"Well… if you're working with the CEO of MBI then you should be able to get what you need… right?" he said as he turned to face her and found an annoyed expression adorn her face.

"I'd rather not have to work with him," she admitted and he found himself remembering that she was technically on the run from the organisation, "but I suppose he has done _some_ good."

"What do you mean?" he found his interest pique at that.

"Well… he has given structure to the Sekirei's fight," she commented and he found himself frowning.

"Wait, I thought he made everyone fight?" he found himself unsure of the situation now that she had made like that.

"Not really," the red-head responded without hesitation, "most Sekirei would fight anyway, Minaka just gave the conflict structure."

He found his mind racing at that.

"B-but why would they fight?" he asked, causing her to give him a sad smile.

"That's…" she seemed to hesitate, her expression showing uncertainty before she released a sigh, "… had things been different, I would probably wouldn't have told you yet."

Her words made his eyes widen in disbelief, she would've withheld something from him?

"But with things as they are… I think you need to know," she continued, "even if it makes Miya angry."

Once again, he found himself shocked by her words… why would this knowledge she was going to share make the Landlady angry?

"The reason us Sekirei fight is to determine who is worthy of becoming the administrator of Kouten," she claimed and he found himself staring blankly before she continued, "the mothership us Sekirei came here on."

"W-w-wait?! So you're fighting over the mothership?" he found himself unable to comprehend why they would fight over something like that, wouldn't it make more sense for them to just accept whoever could fly it best as the right choice?

"Don't think of it like a Sci Fi mothership," she told him immediately, causing him to blink, "it is connected to the Tama of every Sekirei alive… or… well, the Tama is basically our soul."

That… that was beyond his ability to understand.

"So whoever becomes the administrator, effectively becomes the Sekirei's goddess," she told him with a sad smile, "deactivated Sekirei can be restored, winging's can be undone and beyond that, they have access to the full firepower Kouten possesses."

Now that she explained it, it became obvious why they would fight over it now.

With such control over their own species, it was only natural they'd want that power for themselves.

There was one issue though.

"What about the Ashikabi?"

"They join their Sekirei as the deity of the Sekirei… both unable to leave Kouten until their eventual death," Matsu's explanation made his blood run cold.

The idea of being trapped on the mothership didn't sound appealing, even if he was with one of his Sekirei.

There was one thing that confused him though.

"You said the Landlady wouldn't be happy with you telling me this," he stated and he noted the way she sagged in defeat.

"… it's because Miya is the number zero one," he found himself freezing in shock at that, "the current overseer of Kouten until a true administrator is selected."

Holy shit.

That was the only thought that crossed his mind at that revelation.

He hadn't considered the possibility of the landlady being a Sekirei, let alone such an important one at that.

Though it did explain why she could so easily beat Musubi in their spars.

"… and beyond that," Matsu proceeded to continue, "she's easily one of the most violent Sekirei alive."

"Eh?" he couldn't see that. From what he had seen, she might have been scary, but violent didn't really describe her, "b-but she doesn't look violent to me."

"That's because you've only seen her after Takehito's influence," the hacker told him with a sigh, "she keeps her violence suppressed most of the time… but given the condition she left Karasuba in after finding out about what happened to Takehito…"

The way Matsu's words trailed off at that made it clear to him that whatever she had done to this 'Karasuba' person, it hadn't been pleasant to see.

"I-if she's so violent, then why are you telling me?" he found himself asking with a hint of terror seeping into his heart at the thought of what might happen if she found out.

"Because even I have to recognize the seriousness of this situation," he almost jumped out of his skin as the voice of the Landlady herself spoke up from the house.

"L-landlady!" he couldn't stop himself from blurting out in shock, however he found his attention also drawn to his Sekirei's now bone white face.

"Honestly Matsu," the lilac haired woman said with a disapproving frown, "calling me one of the most violent Sekirei."

Minato found himself swallowing nervously as a familiar dark miasma started to bubble up behind the swordswoman.

"Perhaps I need to discipline you again."

And with that, Minato found himself believing every word Matsu had told him about the woman.

XXX A Devil's Wings XXX

Naoki wasn't sure about how things were going to go.

He was currently on the train, with Saki and Yashima, on the way to Shinjuku for their first actual date together.

He found himself dressed in simple black slacks, black trainers with a white t-shirt under a red button up shirt that he left open for the time being.

Saki herself was wearing a tight pair of denim jeans, while a white t-shirt hugged her form in a way that made most of the men who passed by stare.

And Yashima… Yashima was the most out of place of them due to being the only one wearing a yellow sundress with black shoes and white socks that almost reached her knees.

The fact that neither of the duo were carrying weapons on them was clearly leaving them somewhat uncomfortable, but this was supposed to be a date.

Admittedly, he wasn't entirely sure what to actually do on a date, but he was sure they'd come up with something once they got there.

"So… what do you two want to do?" he asked, earning a couple of thoughtful expressions from his two lovers.

"Well… aren't movies meant to be normal?" Saki said after a couple of seconds of thought, "how about we have a look at the cinema's?"

He found himself, looking to Yashima to see if she agreed and her nod made it clear she did, so he offered them a soft smile of confirmation.

"Well then, I guess the cinema is our first stop," he commented without hesitation before waiting for the train to reach their destination.

When they finally got off the train, he found himself naturally walking through the streets, flowing with the hustle and bustle of the crowd with a practiced ease.

"You know, you're pretty good at slipping through everyone aren't you?" his ears caught the voice of Saki comment and he found himself simply shrugging.

"Experience," it was his only response but he knew she'd understand what he meant by that declaration.

Eventually though, he found the crowd starting to push harder, several people trying to move out of the way of something that was heading their direction.

No one seemed all that bothered about it, but then he heard the cries.

"Monster!"

He didn't know who made that claim but he found himself planting his feet as the crowd started to push harder before a panic outright consumed the crowd.

Naoki found himself cursing the fact that he became ageless before he had finished growing, since it meant that the majority of the crowd was taller than him.

Meaning he couldn't make out the source of the disturbance.

However he decided to push forward without care for the people he was pushing to the side.

"H-hey! Stop going that way!" a man that was rushing the other direction said upon trying to grab him, "that's where the monster is!"

Naoki simply pushed pass the man's attempts at holding him back before finally getting a look at the cause of the disturbance.

About eight foot tall, with vibrant red skin, blue clothes, jagged looking teeth, a single large horn erupting from its head and a large naginata held in hand while a Police Officer was shooting it in a panic.

He found himself immediately releasing a sigh of annoyance.

"Seriously? All this commotion for a bloody Oni," he muttered under his breath as he moved closer to the demon that was surrounded by dozens of corpses and moving closer to the cop.

The first thing he did was quietly summon Pixie, who immediately noticed the method he had used and took a look at everything before simply nodding her head and getting to work.

"Hoy!" he decided to call out to the creature, causing it to face him, "cut it out, you're disrupting traffic."

"Who the fuck are you?"

He found his attention drawn to another person standing among the carnage, a rather messy looking man with shaggy black hair, a smug expression and a blue hoody, holding a smart phone in his hand.

"Someone who was looking forward to a date," he stated without hesitation, "now, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you quit holding us up and cut out the rampaging."

"D-dammit kid!" the police officer said with fear clear in their tone, "get out of here!"

He chose to ignore the peacekeeper as he continued to stare bluntly at the man who only seemed to be growing more irritated.

"The fuck are you looking at asshole?!" the man screamed at him with annoyance clear on his face, "you think you're better than me huh?! Well you're not!"

Ah… he was someone with a short temper but also a massive inferiority complex.

He was probably drunk on the 'power' that having a demon answering to him gave him.

It was honestly pretty pathetic.

"Uh huh," he responded without any enthusiasm, this was really kind of annoying, even if most of the people had come to realize they couldn't leave the area no matter how hard they tried.

Pixie was very helpful like that.

"Anyway," he spoke towards the man who was growing even more irritated, "how did you get your hands on that guy?"

"Fuck you," the man seemed to practically spit at him, "you think I'm gonna just tell you something that big?!"

He found himself completely unsurprised by that statement, but that was because he understood that the man had no idea why he was asking about it.

"Hey! Oni, leave the cop," the man continued, "kill that retard!"

"Yeah!" the red skinned monster seemed to be completely happy with those directions and immediately charged him at speeds that would be too great for a human to ever hope to escape.

The screams of the remaining crowd only made it clearer that it was beyond anything a normal human could handle.

And with a crash, the screams stopped.

"Oommphhh!"

The crowd, the policeman and even the thug who summoned the beast could do nothing more than stare in shock as one moment, the demon had been charging him… and the next it had its face buried a few inches into the concrete as he held it in place.

"Seriously," he continued as he looked at the man who was now standing with slack jaws, "where did you get this guy?"

He ignored the thrashing from the Japanese monster, sure it was breaking the ground around them, but he was more than capable of holding it in place, even twisting on of the creatures arms upwards so it didn't get in the way of his vision when thrashing about.

Admittedly, what he was doing should have been impossible when applying the laws of physics, but he'd been ignoring them whenever it suited him for decades, so it was nothing new for him.

"W-w-w-what the fuck?" the man had lost all of his previous confidence upon seeing him effortlessly manhandle the demon, "what the fuck are you?!"

"I already told you… a guy that was looking forward to a date before you decided that sending an Oni on a rampage in Shinjuku was a good idea," he proclaimed easily, "now, answer me, before we do this the hard way."

*Mhrrhemahmehvna!" the voice of the Oni seemed to call out from its place buried in the ground, but he paid it little mind until he noticed it had stopped thrashing about.

Then he lifted the head.

"What was that?" he asked it with a frown even as the Oni started to laugh.

"You think you're so strong," the creature stated with amusement clear in its tone, "but things are about to get much… much worse."

He felt his eyes narrow even as he heard a crunch behind him before a cry of pain assaulted his ears.

"Do you mind," he said as he turned to face the Oni's summoner once again, "I'm in the middle of something right now."

He idly noted the way the man was holding his wrist and the knife that was now resting on the ground when there hadn't been one before… clearly the man had tried to stab him.

He couldn't say he even felt it.

"Now, what were you saying?" he asked the demon who grinned maliciously.

"There is a war going on… and this city is ground zero," it stated without hesitation, "you haven't got long before this world ends… with you with it!"

Anger.

That was the emotion that he felt flood through his system at that declaration from the Oni.

The world was ending?

Like hell it was.

He worked his ass off to restore the world to the state it was currently in, there was no way in hell he would let it just be destroyed.

*crunch*

He had to blink at that.

Looking at his hand, he noted the way he had just inadvertently crushed the demons head when his fist had clenched in his anger, clearly killing it if its form dispersing into the atmosphere was anything to go by.

Oh well… if there was a war going on, then there would be plenty more of them where that one had come from.

"W-what the fuck?!" the man in the hoody sounded genuinely terrified now.

"Sorry, I guess what it said made me a little angry," he stated without any hesitation, "now, why don't you tell me where you got it before we do this the hard way."

"Y-you bastard!" it was obvious that he wanted to attack him but the quick glance the man sent to his clearly sprained wrist made it clear he wasn't stupid enough to do something like that again.

"So… are you going to tell me, or do I have to torture you until you snap, kill you, and then interrogate your ghost?" he asked bluntly, making the man's eyes widen in fear.

"S-s-stop!" he found his attention drawn towards the police officer who was now holding his gun towards him, "I-I-I can't let you do that!"

"Look," he said without any hesitation, "you won't even remember anything when all this is over, so don't try getting in my way."

It was true after all.

The reason he had summoned Pixie was so that she could keep everyone in the area s that there weren't enough people capable of corroborating the stories of those who did manage to escape.

Especially after she erased the memories of everything that had happened from the minds of most of the people who had been there.

"Now," he turned back to the man who was clearly in the process of shitting himself, "tell me how you got your hands on that Oni and we _won't_ have to do this the hard way."

"A-a-an App!" the man clearly didn't feel like risking the alternative and he found himself raising an eyebrow at that.

"A phone App?" he asked for clarification, earning a vigorous nod off the man.

Great… just great.

To think that some asshole was spreading the Demon Summoning Program via smartphones… he would definitely need help to deal with something like that.

At least he knew just who to contact about something like this.

"Now… what to do with you," he found himself saying before an idea came to his head, "pixie, can you fix up the corpses?"

Without any hesitation, he noted the way the corpses were now being restored to a mostly intact state, though there were still lacerations and punctures in fatal areas.

She even fixed the pavement of the craters he'd created.

"Great," he responded without hesitation at his first partners understanding of what he was thinking of doing.

Then again, this wasn't the first time they'd done something like this at a demon's massacre.

"Now, you… whoever you are," he said as he pointed at the man who flinched, "give me your phone and pick up your knife."

"W-w-what?!" he sounded outright shocked by that order.

"Pick up the knife unless you'd rather die," he commanded without hesitation, causing the man to rush to do as instructed, tossing his phone towards him while scooping up the weapon, "good… now… Pixie, it's your turn."

And with that, he felt the magic wash over him as the inside of the barrier keeping everyone in was used to define who would have their memories altered.

"Freeze!" the voice of the police officer called out and Naoki slinked away from the scene without any issue even as a cry of anger met his ears before a couple of gunshots silenced everything.

"Seriously Pixie?" he found himself asking with a raised eyebrow.

"He attacked you," the voice of the little red-head said near his ear, "he deserved it."

He found himself releasing a sigh at that statement.

Altering the mind of a person so they'd do something suicidal just because they had attacked him definitely sounded like something Pixie would do.

For now though, he found himself releasing a sigh as he looked at the two girls he had come to this area to be with in the first place.

"Neither of you interfered," he stated.

"Saki-chan wouldn't let me," Yashima told him with a pout.

"I doubt this is your first time dealing with something like that," the older of the two immediately answered, "I didn't know if getting involved would make things harder for you or not."

He let a smile grace his lips at that.

"Yeah," he admitted without any delay, "I've dealt with situations like this about… four, maybe five times before."

He noted the relieved sigh that escaped Saki's lips at that.

Clearly she had been worried she'd made the wrong call.

"Anyway… I'm sorry to say this…" he started to say before the older of his Sekirei spoke up.

"We have to cut our date short before we even begin," she said and he found himself releasing a sigh as he nodded in acknowledgement, "don't worry about it, we know you didn't ask for this to happen."

He felt a smile grace his lips at her statement.

"We'll just have to find another time to go out," he told her, earning a soft smile off the alien.

"Yeah…" she responded happily, "I'll be looking forward to it."

XXX A Devi's Wings XXX

Hijiri Jyouji could do little more than release a sigh as he looked over all the potential articles he could investigate.

He knew they were all duds.

But the fact that he didn't have anything worth his time meant he'd have to settle for something completely pointless if he wanted to make his deadline that month.

He was about to pick up one at random when he received a message on his phone.

It was probably nothing more impressive than some nut claiming to have been abducted by aliens again… but it was worth having a look just in case.

The sender immediately caused him to jerk up in suspense.

Kashima Naoki.

He remembered the boy, someone who he had given a promotional copy of Ayakashi Monthly to in the hopes of getting a new subscriber.

The fact that the boy had later appeared before him with a _lot_ of information that had proven to be pretty reliable.

Apparently he had survived the Conception invoked by Hikawa and had restored the world to its previous state.

He would've called the boy a liar… if he hadn't summoned a demon directly in front of him.

So he knew any leads by Kashima were legit.

Opening the message, he read something he wasn't surprised to see.

 _In Tokyo_

 _Got story, need help_

 _Meet at Yoyogi park._

 _9pm_

It was a short and uninformative message, but he wasn't surprised by that in the slightest… Kashima never sent information about this sort of stuff through communication channels, only ever face to face.

So without a seconds delay, he prepared himself to meet the demonic man.

And it even solved his problem with finding a story to cover.

* * *

And that's all for today.

Shadow Out.


End file.
